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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. degree — an amount
  3. race — humankind
  4. object — an aim
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. race — a contest
  7. degree — from a university
  8. net — in sport
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. race — the arms race
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — clothes
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. net — for catching
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. object — a thing
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. date — the fruit
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pitch — completely
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. net — after costs
  24. suit — in cards

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