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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. suit — to fit
  3. lie — to recline
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. degree — from a university
  10. court — for sport
  11. race — humankind
  12. suit — clothes
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. court — of law
  17. degree — an amount
  18. suit — in cards
  19. squash — to crush
  20. race — a contest
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cold — not warm
  23. race — the arms race
  24. lie — an untruth

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