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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 116 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spring — of water
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. kick — in football
  6. capital — money
  7. spring — a coil
  8. present — there
  9. degree — an amount
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. spring — the season
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chair — a leader
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. capital — a city
  24. chair — a professorship

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