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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 an ace ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. degree — an amount
  3. race — the arms race
  4. ball — a great time
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. race — a contest
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. roll — a cake
  9. ball — a dance
  10. capital — a city
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. roll — a list
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. capital — money
  21. chair — a leader
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. race — humankind
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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