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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 the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. land — ground
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mate — to breed
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. game — a match
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mate — a partner
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wound — an injury
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. land — a country
  16. ball — a dance
  17. fork — in a road
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. land — to come down
  24. ball — a great time

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