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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. race — a contest
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. degree — from a university
  8. race — humankind
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. pass — a permit
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hand — help
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. dip — to sink

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