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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — the animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. prune — to trim
  11. court — of law
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bear — the animal
  14. tube — a container
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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