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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fork — in a road
  12. race — a contest
  13. ball — a great time
  14. race — humankind
  15. sharp — clever
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. chair — a leader
  19. degree — temperature
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rush — hurry
  24. fork — a garden tool

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