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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. race — humankind
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. current — electric
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — from a university
  11. current — happening now
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. degree — an amount
  15. race — the arms race
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. key — for a lock
  20. current — of water
  21. key — the most important part
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. race — a contest
  24. degree — temperature

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