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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. race — a contest
  3. file — a line of people
  4. race — humankind
  5. degree — temperature
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. file — a tool
  10. firm — decided
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. file — a document
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — steady
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bat — the animal

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