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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 116 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mug — a cup
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. band — a music group
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mug — to rob
  15. court — of a king
  16. mug — a face
  17. chair — a leader
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. band — a ring
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. capital — money
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. hide — animal skin

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