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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. track — to keep track
  4. season — of the year
  5. track — a song
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. race — the arms race
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. track — a path
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. kid — child
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. racket — for tennis
  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