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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pit — in a race
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wind — moving air
  8. firm — steady
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. firm — a company
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pit — a hole
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. degree — from a university
  21. firm — decided
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wind — to turn a key

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