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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 120 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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. race — humankind
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. wind — moving air
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. club — for golf
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chest — a box
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. race — a contest
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. race — the arms race
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. club — a group
  24. wind — to turn a key

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