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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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. charge — electricity
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wind — moving air
  6. present — the time now
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. race — the arms race
  11. present — a gift
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. charge — in control
  17. race — humankind
  18. can — a tin
  19. present — there
  20. degree — temperature
  21. charge — a price
  22. can — a tin
  23. race — a contest
  24. can — to be able to

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