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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mug — a face
  4. degree — an amount
  5. race — the arms race
  6. mug — to rob
  7. ground — crushed
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. race — a contest
  10. spring — the season
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mug — a cup
  13. ground — a position
  14. scale — in music
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spring — of water
  17. charge — electricity
  18. charge — a price
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. charge — in control
  21. spring — a coil
  22. race — humankind
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lean — thin

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