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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. degree — temperature
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. race — a contest
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fork — in a road
  11. content — happy
  12. deal — to handle
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. degree — an amount
  15. band — a ring
  16. pit — a hole
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. degree — from a university
  19. content — the amount
  20. band — a music group
  21. wind — moving air
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wind — moving air

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