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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pop — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spring — a coil
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. scale — size or range
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. pop — soda
  16. cap — a lid
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. scale — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cap — a hat
  22. pop — to visit
  23. key — in music
  24. hide — animal skin

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