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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mug — a cup
  3. degree — an amount
  4. face — to confront
  5. spell — letters
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mug — a face
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. tube — a container
  13. race — the arms race
  14. degree — temperature
  15. race — humankind
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rash — hasty
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mug — to rob
  20. chest — a box
  21. face — to point toward
  22. rash — a series
  23. face — part of the head
  24. spell — magic

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