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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. saw — the tool
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. sharp — clever
  5. band — a ring
  6. degree — from a university
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. content — happy
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. degree — an amount
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. tear — from crying
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. tear — to rip
  20. band — a music group
  21. saw — the tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. content — the amount
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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