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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bound — obliged
  3. clip — for paper
  4. face — to confront
  5. rash — a series
  6. craft — a skill
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. craft — boats
  12. clip — a video
  13. race — a contest
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. degree — an amount
  19. race — the arms race
  20. clip — to cut
  21. degree — from a university
  22. race — humankind
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. face — part of the head

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