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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 116 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 sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. degree — from a university
  10. staff — employees
  11. pit — in a race
  12. staff — employees
  13. game — a match
  14. saw — the tool
  15. staff — a stick
  16. saw — the tool
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pit — a hole
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. face — to point toward
  24. game — wild animals

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