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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chest — a box
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pop — soda
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cap — a lid
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cap — of ice
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cap — a hat
  24. rest — a break

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com