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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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 — humankind
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. present — the time now
  7. capital — money
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. land — a country
  12. capital — a city
  13. present — there
  14. land — ground
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. land — to come down
  17. race — the arms race
  18. degree — an amount
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. race — a contest
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  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