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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. kick — in football
  5. cap — of ice
  6. race — the arms race
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. race — a contest
  9. cap — a lid
  10. degree — an amount
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cap — a hat
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. race — humankind
  22. saw — the tool
  23. degree — from a university
  24. trunk — of a tree

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