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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. squash — the sport
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spring — of water
  6. ball — a great time
  7. spring — a coil
  8. ball — a dance
  9. root — the cause
  10. fine — all right
  11. root — of a word
  12. squash — to crush
  13. root — of a plant
  14. march — the month
  15. fine — high quality
  16. degree — temperature
  17. spring — the season
  18. race — a contest
  19. march — music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. march — the month
  22. race — humankind
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. ball — a round shape

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