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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. march — music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. degree — an amount
  7. game — wild animals
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. race — a contest
  11. march — the month
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pop — music
  14. race — humankind
  15. march — the month
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pop — to visit
  19. race — the arms race
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pop — soda
  23. degree — temperature
  24. sharp — with an edge

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