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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. ball — a great time
  5. season — in sport
  6. sharp — clever
  7. race — the arms race
  8. degree — temperature
  9. race — humankind
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. race — a contest
  17. ball — a dance
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. season — of the year
  20. ground — the earth
  21. face — to point toward
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. racket — for tennis

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