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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. degree — temperature
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. capital — money
  5. cold — not warm
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bound — obliged
  8. capital — a city
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bound — certain
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — in a road
  14. degree — an amount
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bound — tied together
  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