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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. squash — the sport
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. degree — temperature
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. race — humankind
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pop — music
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. face — to confront
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — part of the head
  21. race — a contest
  22. pop — soda
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rush — hurry

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