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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. race — humankind
  3. rule — government
  4. race — the arms race
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. cold — not warm
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. snap — to click
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mate — a friend
  12. rule — a law
  13. cold — an illness
  14. suit — to fit
  15. bear — the animal
  16. suit — clothes
  17. race — a contest
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. suit — in cards
  24. mate — to breed

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