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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 116 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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. degree — an amount
  4. track — a song
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. drill — the tool
  10. band — a music group
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. degree — from a university
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bear — the animal
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. track — to keep track
  17. drill — army training
  18. track — a path
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. band — a ring
  22. scale — in music
  23. chair — a leader
  24. scale — size or range

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