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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. suit — in cards
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. suit — clothes
  7. race — a contest
  8. current — happening now
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rash — hasty
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. suit — to fit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — temperature
  16. tear — to rip
  17. race — the arms race
  18. current — of water
  19. race — humankind
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rash — a series
  23. current — electric
  24. mine — for digging

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