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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — in music
  6. foot — a measure
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. season — of the year
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fine — all right
  12. degree — an amount
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. clip — a video
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. season — in sport
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fine — high quality
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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