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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a music group
  3. lean — to bend
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. face — to confront
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. band — a ring
  8. field — for sport
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a signal
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. face — part of the head
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. degree — from a university
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. field — farmland
  19. face — to point toward
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lean — thin
  22. cue — a hint
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. field — a subject

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