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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. race — humankind
  5. degree — temperature
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. race — the arms race
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bank — of a river
  20. degree — an amount
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. race — a contest
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — help

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