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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pop — soda
  6. kick — in football
  7. pop — music
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pop — to visit
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. race — humankind
  15. court — for sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wake — a trail
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. race — a contest
  20. court — of law
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — of a king
  24. race — the arms race

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