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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. race — a contest
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. degree — from a university
  5. race — the arms race
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. plane — a tool
  8. dip — to sink
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. club — a group
  13. drill — the tool
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. club — for dancing
  17. degree — temperature
  18. drill — a practice
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. race — humankind
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. degree — an amount
  23. drill — army training
  24. stand — to bear

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