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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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. race — the arms race
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. field — farmland
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. rule — government
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pop — soda
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — low music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rule — a law
  21. race — a contest
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pound — a weight

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