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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. present — there
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fall — the season
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. present — a gift
  9. pound — a weight
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. fall — to drop
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cell — a phone
  20. race — a contest
  21. chip — for betting
  22. present — the time now
  23. chip — to eat
  24. race — humankind

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