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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. march — the month
  4. suit — clothes
  5. capital — money
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — music
  14. suit — in cards
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — from crying
  17. suit — to fit
  18. pound — a weight
  19. degree — an amount
  20. tear — to rip
  21. capital — a city
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. drill — the tool

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