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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. degree — an amount
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. file — a document
  10. drill — army training
  11. race — humankind
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. file — a line of people
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. file — a tool
  20. drill — the tool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. race — the arms race
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pass — a permit

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