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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  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. lean — thin
  2. race — a contest
  3. charge — a price
  4. field — a subject
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wound — an injury
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — an aim
  9. field — farmland
  10. charge — electricity
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. object — a thing
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. charge — in control
  22. field — for sport
  23. lean — to bend
  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