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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rest — a break
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rest — what's left
  9. craft — boats
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. degree — from a university
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rest — what's left
  24. lean — to rest against

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