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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cap — a hat
  8. swing — music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cap — a lid
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — not warm
  21. degree — an amount
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. degree — from a university

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