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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. degree — from a university
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. drill — the tool
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. swing — music
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — in golf
  21. cold — not warm
  22. swing — to play on
  23. lie — to recline
  24. drill — army training

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