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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. current — electric
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mark — a trace
  9. current — of water
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. race — a contest
  12. drill — army training
  13. board — to get on
  14. drill — a practice
  15. board — a committee
  16. current — happening now
  17. degree — temperature
  18. date — the fruit
  19. race — humankind
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. degree — an amount
  23. drill — the tool
  24. racket — for tennis

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