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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kick — in football
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. drill — the tool
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bass — low music
  14. content — happy
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. content — the amount
  18. bass — the fish
  19. drill — army training
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. game — a match

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