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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. lean — thin
  3. roll — a cake
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. game — wild animals
  9. roll — a list
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cap — a lid
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. race — a contest
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. race — the arms race
  19. game — a match
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. degree — an amount
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. race — humankind
  24. lean — to bend

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