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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. race — humankind
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. cue — a hint
  8. club — for golf
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. charge — a price
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. charge — in control
  17. club — for dancing
  18. race — a contest
  19. cold — an illness
  20. degree — temperature
  21. race — the arms race
  22. charge — electricity
  23. cue — a signal
  24. straw — dry grass

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