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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mug — a cup
  3. tube — the underground
  4. degree — from a university
  5. band — a ring
  6. fork — in a road
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. mug — to rob
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chest — of your body
  14. net — after costs
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. band — a music group
  17. net — in sport
  18. mug — a face
  19. tube — a container
  20. chest — a box
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. net — for catching
  24. band — a rubber band

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