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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. degree — an amount
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. bound — obliged
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bound — certain
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chest — a box
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rush — hurry
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. kick — in football

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