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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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. wound — an injury
  4. chest — of your body
  5. shower — rain
  6. land — to come down
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. land — ground
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. chest — a box
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. land — a country
  16. chest — of your body
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. branch — a division
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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