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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mark — a grade
  3. ball — a great time
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. can — a tin
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. shower — rain
  16. mark — a trace
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. march — the month
  20. ball — a dance
  21. march — music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. ball — a round shape

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