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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 120 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mate — to breed
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. mate — a friend
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pit — a hole
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. degree — an amount
  13. race — humankind
  14. mate — a partner
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pit — in a race
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. degree — temperature
  22. tear — to rip
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cabinet — ministers

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