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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — from a university
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. ball — a dance
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fork — in a road
  13. squash — to crush
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. squash — the sport
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. race — the arms race
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wind — moving air

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