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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. last — to go on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. mine — for digging
  6. last — finally
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. last — final
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. degree — temperature
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. swing — music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. swing — to play on
  22. deal — to handle
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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