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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. club — for golf
  7. race — humankind
  8. lie — to recline
  9. degree — an amount
  10. kid — child
  11. cap — a hat
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. race — a contest
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. club — a group
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. kid — to tease
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. club — for dancing

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