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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rest — what's left
  7. season — of the year
  8. swing — in golf
  9. present — the time now
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. race — the arms race
  12. season — in sport
  13. drill — a practice
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. race — humankind
  16. rest — what's left
  17. kick — in football
  18. rest — a break
  19. swing — music
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. degree — temperature
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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