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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 116 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wake — a trail
  3. mate — to breed
  4. craft — boats
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. mate — a friend
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — an illness
  20. perch — the fish
  21. race — a contest
  22. cold — not warm
  23. craft — a skill
  24. degree — an amount

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