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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. lean — thin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — the arms race
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. club — a group
  8. dip — to sink
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — child
  14. scale — in music
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. club — for dancing
  19. degree — temperature
  20. scale — size or range
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. lean — to bend
  23. club — for golf
  24. dip — a sauce

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