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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. degree — an amount
  3. race — the arms race
  4. club — for golf
  5. bulb — for light
  6. drill — the tool
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — humankind
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. last — final
  15. club — a group
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bulb — for light
  18. race — a contest
  19. drill — army training
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. degree — temperature

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