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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. degree — temperature
  2. bank — for money
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. staff — employees
  5. bank — of a river
  6. degree — from a university
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bank — for money
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. staff — employees
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cold — not warm
  22. snap — to click
  23. staff — a stick
  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