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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mine — for digging
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. row — to paddle
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. march — the month
  14. sharp — clever
  15. degree — an amount
  16. march — music
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. lie — to recline
  19. degree — from a university
  20. march — the month
  21. row — a line
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mine — an explosive

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