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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. spring — a coil
  3. squash — to crush
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rush — hurry
  13. degree — an amount
  14. band — a music group
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. tear — to rip

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