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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mug — to rob
  3. spring — the season
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lean — to bend
  11. race — humankind
  12. spring — of water
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mug — a face
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. race — the arms race
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mug — a cup
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lean — thin
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. race — a contest

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