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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. degree — temperature
  3. race — a contest
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pop — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. race — humankind
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pop — to visit
  12. degree — an amount
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. degree — from a university
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chip — for betting
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. pop — soda
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. lie — to recline

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