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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. degree — temperature
  3. race — a contest
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. roll — a list
  6. craft — boats
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. race — humankind
  9. craft — a skill
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. tube — a container
  12. roll — a cake
  13. squash — to crush
  14. rule — a law
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. degree — an amount
  24. race — the arms race

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