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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · degree · bear · rock · cap · field · temple · row

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. degree — temperature
  3. clip — a video
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bear — the animal
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. clip — to cut
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. clip — for paper
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rock — music
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rock — to move gently

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