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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rush — hurry
  3. degree — temperature
  4. shower — to wash
  5. degree — an amount
  6. race — a contest
  7. pass — a permit
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. shower — rain
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. race — humankind
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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