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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 116 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. content — happy
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. degree — from a university
  9. key — in music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — for a lock
  14. spring — of water
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — the season

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