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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. degree — an amount
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. current — electric
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. current — happening now
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. cap — a lid
  14. current — of water
  15. cold — an illness
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. kick — in football
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. face — part of the head
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cap — of ice

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