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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. 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. band — a ring
  2. kick — in football
  3. race — a contest
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. degree — from a university
  8. charge — in control
  9. race — the arms race
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. degree — temperature
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. race — humankind
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. charge — a price
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mark — a grade
  21. charge — electricity
  22. band — a music group
  23. dip — to sink
  24. 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