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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. club — for dancing
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. degree — an amount
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. face — to confront
  6. degree — from a university
  7. face — part of the head
  8. race — the arms race
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wind — moving air
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. face — to point toward
  13. race — humankind
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. mate — a friend
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — a group
  20. mate — to breed
  21. race — a contest
  22. mate — a partner
  23. club — for golf
  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