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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. race — a contest
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. face — to confront
  5. charge — in control
  6. race — humankind
  7. degree — temperature
  8. face — to point toward
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. face — part of the head
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — a price
  22. race — the arms race
  23. band — a music group
  24. degree — an amount

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