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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. degree — from a university
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. race — a contest
  6. rash — hasty
  7. degree — temperature
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fine — all right
  11. race — the arms race
  12. swing — in golf
  13. race — humankind
  14. fine — high quality
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. hand — in cards
  18. swing — music
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. swing — to play on
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. hand — help

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