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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. present — a gift
  3. degree — an amount
  4. present — there
  5. rush — hurry
  6. clip — a video
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bore — to drill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. present — the time now
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. chest — a box
  18. clip — to cut
  19. degree — from a university
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bore — to tire

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