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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spring — of water
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. chest — a box
  6. board — to get on
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mate — a friend
  10. degree — an amount
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pop — music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. pop — soda
  16. board — a committee
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pitch — completely
  20. prune — to trim
  21. degree — from a university
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. spring — a coil

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