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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bank — for money
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mate — a friend
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mine — for digging
  8. swing — in golf
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. swing — music
  12. race — a contest
  13. mate — a partner
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bank — for money
  17. race — humankind
  18. mate — to breed
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bank — of a river

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