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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — temperature
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. march — music
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. race — humankind
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. spring — of water
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mark — a trace
  17. degree — an amount
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. race — a contest
  20. march — the month
  21. mark — a grade
  22. race — the arms race
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mouse — the animal

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