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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. degree — an amount
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. spell — letters
  5. degree — temperature
  6. drill — the tool
  7. spell — magic
  8. last — to go on
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. last — finally
  11. bass — low music
  12. drill — a practice
  13. press — newspapers
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. press — to push
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cap — of ice
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. spell — a short time
  20. press — a publisher
  21. last — final
  22. drill — army training
  23. cap — a lid
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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