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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. mug — a cup
  6. content — happy
  7. mug — a face
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cap — a hat
  10. roll — a cake
  11. rest — what's left
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spring — of water
  15. mug — to rob
  16. rest — a break
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. degree — from a university
  21. roll — a list
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. content — the amount
  24. arm — part of the body

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