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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chest — a box
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cap — a lid
  10. chest — of your body
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. staff — employees
  16. key — for a lock
  17. rock — a stone
  18. key — in music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. key — the most important part
  22. degree — an amount
  23. race — humankind
  24. rock — music

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