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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. band — a music group
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — steady
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. vault — a safe
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. file — a tool
  15. band — a ring
  16. degree — from a university
  17. firm — a company
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. file — a document
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. degree — an amount
  24. file — a line of people

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