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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bass — low music
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. sharp — clever
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fall — the season
  12. bulb — for light
  13. race — humankind
  14. deal — to handle
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fall — to drop
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fall — to drop
  19. race — the arms race
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. degree — from a university
  24. sharp — with an edge

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