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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in biology
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. track — a song
  6. shower — rain
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. ground — a position
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bulb — for light
  17. track — a path
  18. pit — a hole
  19. track — to keep track
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cell — a phone

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