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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. game — wild animals
  4. object — a thing
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. lean — thin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. craft — a skill
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. craft — boats
  20. game — a match
  21. degree — an amount
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lean — to bend

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