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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bound — tied together
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rash — a series
  7. bear — the animal
  8. snap — to click
  9. content — happy
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. race — a contest
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bear — the animal
  15. content — the amount
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bound — obliged
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. bound — certain
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — hasty

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