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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. shower — to wash
  3. race — the arms race
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. present — the time now
  6. foot — a measure
  7. race — humankind
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cap — a lid
  11. shower — rain
  12. present — there
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pop — music
  15. drill — the tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. cap — a hat
  18. present — a gift
  19. pop — soda
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. drill — army training
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. drill — a practice
  24. degree — temperature

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