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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. race — a contest
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rest — a break
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rest — what's left
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chip — to eat
  19. degree — temperature
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chip — for betting
  22. race — humankind
  23. wind — moving air
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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