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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. race — humankind
  3. file — a document
  4. cap — a hat
  5. race — the arms race
  6. file — a tool
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. file — a line of people
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cap — a lid
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — a contest
  14. cap — of ice
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. degree — an amount

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