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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chest — a box
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spring — a coil
  5. drill — the tool
  6. spring — the season
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. drill — army training
  12. degree — an amount
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. capital — a city
  18. tear — from crying
  19. swing — to play on
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. drill — a practice
  22. spring — of water
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. capital — money

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