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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pitch — completely
  5. tube — a container
  6. fine — all right
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fine — high quality
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. rest — a break
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. degree — from a university
  17. snap — to click
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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