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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 124 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. march — the month
  6. degree — from a university
  7. march — the month
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pitch — completely
  10. club — for golf
  11. net — for catching
  12. degree — an amount
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. club — a group
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. march — music
  22. net — in sport
  23. hand — help
  24. net — after costs

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