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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. race — humankind
  5. court — of a king
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. branch — a division
  11. pass — a permit
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. degree — from a university
  18. race — the arms race

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