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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. race — a contest
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rock — music
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. degree — temperature
  12. race — humankind
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rash — hasty
  15. capital — money
  16. rock — a stone
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. capital — a city
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — to bear
  22. degree — from a university
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pound — a weight

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