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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. race — a contest
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. degree — from a university
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. race — humankind
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. saw — the tool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tear — from crying
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — an amount

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