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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. deal — to handle
  4. degree — from a university
  5. net — in sport
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. race — a contest
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kid — child
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. kid — to tease
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. race — the arms race
  24. degree — an amount

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