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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. current — happening now
  3. tube — the underground
  4. race — a contest
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. degree — an amount
  7. race — humankind
  8. branch — a division
  9. snap — to click
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. race — the arms race
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. degree — temperature
  14. squash — the sport
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. tube — a container
  17. current — electric
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. current — of water
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — from a university
  24. tube — in a tire

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