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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. snap — to click
  6. key — in music
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. degree — an amount
  9. key — the most important part
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. scale — in music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. pit — in a race
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pit — a hole
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wound — an injury
  20. degree — from a university
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. chair — a leader
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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