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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. spring — of water
  7. board — to get on
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. degree — an amount
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. swing — to play on
  15. board — a committee
  16. lean — thin
  17. swing — in golf
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. kid — to tease
  20. lean — to bend
  21. kid — child
  22. degree — from a university
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — a coil

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