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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. race — a contest
  3. spring — of water
  4. race — the arms race
  5. hand — help
  6. track — a song
  7. hand — in cards
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. race — humankind
  14. track — a path
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. degree — from a university
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. track — to keep track
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. spring — the season
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. racket — for tennis

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