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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. stand — to bear
  5. race — a contest
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. firm — decided
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mate — to breed
  10. dip — to sink
  11. chip — to eat
  12. firm — a company
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mate — a friend
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. chip — for betting
  21. race — the arms race
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. firm — steady
  24. race — humankind

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