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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. drill — a practice
  3. degree — temperature
  4. race — the arms race
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. drill — army training
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. degree — from a university
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chip — to eat
  12. race — a contest
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. club — a group
  15. race — humankind
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. chip — for betting
  19. capital — money
  20. track — a song
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. club — for dancing

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