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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. spring — of water
  6. file — a document
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lean — thin
  10. pop — to visit
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. degree — an amount
  14. spring — a coil
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. pop — music
  23. spring — the season
  24. pop — soda

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