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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. degree — an amount
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. date — the fruit
  5. race — the arms race
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. race — humankind
  8. degree — from a university
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. race — a contest
  12. kid — to tease
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rock — a stone
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rock — music
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. kid — child

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