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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 120 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. race — humankind
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. degree — from a university
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mine — for digging
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. craft — a skill
  13. race — a contest
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. craft — boats
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. stand — to bear
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. degree — an amount
  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