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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. degree — an amount
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. can — a tin
  5. race — humankind
  6. bound — tied together
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bound — obliged
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. game — wild animals
  12. can — to be able to
  13. rule — government
  14. game — a match
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rule — a law
  23. bound — certain
  24. can — a tin

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