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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — the tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. capital — a city
  5. rock — music
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. swing — to play on
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — money
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — a stone
  13. drill — army training
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. race — humankind
  19. last — final
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. last — finally
  23. swing — music
  24. bowl — a football final

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