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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. charge — a price
  3. chest — a box
  4. cold — an illness
  5. degree — from a university
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. roll — a list
  12. cold — not warm
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. deal — to handle
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. chest — of your body
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — electricity
  20. sharp — clever
  21. foot — a measure
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. roll — a cake

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