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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mark — a grade
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. degree — an amount
  8. race — the arms race
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. suit — clothes
  12. mark — a trace
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. degree — from a university
  15. shower — rain
  16. suit — to fit
  17. hand — help
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. suit — in cards
  21. hand — in cards
  22. court — of a king
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. shower — to wash

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