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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cue — a signal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. race — humankind
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mine — for digging
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — from a university
  11. race — a contest
  12. track — a song
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. degree — temperature
  15. root — the cause
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. root — of a word
  18. degree — an amount
  19. track — a path
  20. root — of a plant
  21. cue — for pool
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pitch — completely
  24. cue — a hint

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