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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. race — humankind
  3. degree — an amount
  4. race — the arms race
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. face — to confront
  8. dip — to sink
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. object — to protest
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. object — an aim
  18. face — to point toward
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. race — a contest
  22. degree — temperature
  23. object — a thing
  24. face — part of the head

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