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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. degree — from a university
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. bat — the animal
  6. firm — decided
  7. court — of law
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — boats
  10. race — humankind
  11. present — the time now
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. firm — a company
  15. craft — a skill
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. firm — steady
  20. present — there
  21. court — for sport
  22. chair — a leader
  23. court — of a king
  24. degree — an amount

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