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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. degree — an amount
  3. race — the arms race
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rule — government
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. rule — a law
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. race — a contest
  16. bat — the animal
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. race — humankind

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