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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. swing — to play on
  3. season — of the year
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. swing — music
  8. rule — a law
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mug — a face
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. content — the amount
  14. degree — an amount
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. swing — in golf
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a cup
  21. date — the fruit
  22. rule — government
  23. content — happy
  24. season — in sport

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