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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. game — wild animals
  3. craft — boats
  4. fall — to drop
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. race — humankind
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. degree — an amount
  10. perch — the fish
  11. craft — a skill
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. spring — a coil
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. race — a contest
  18. game — a match
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spring — of water
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. spring — the season
  24. race — the arms race

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