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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. degree — an amount
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. clip — to cut
  7. degree — from a university
  8. capital — a city
  9. race — the arms race
  10. capital — money
  11. suit — clothes
  12. cue — a hint
  13. suit — to fit
  14. degree — temperature
  15. suit — in cards
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. clip — a video
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. race — a contest
  24. clip — for paper

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