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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  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 — humankind
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. date — the fruit
  5. mine — for digging
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. saw — the tool
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. degree — temperature
  11. net — after costs
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ball — a dance
  15. race — the arms race
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. race — a contest
  19. saw — the tool
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. ball — a great time
  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