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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mark — a grade
  5. fine — all right
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lean — to bend
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. shower — rain
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. spring — of water
  15. fine — high quality
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lean — thin
  19. capital — money
  20. mark — a trace
  21. spring — the season
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. capital — a city
  24. degree — from a university

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