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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. degree — temperature
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pop — music
  5. game — wild animals
  6. charge — in control
  7. can — to be able to
  8. race — humankind
  9. degree — an amount
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. race — a contest
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. game — a match
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pop — to visit
  20. charge — a price
  21. pop — soda
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. charge — electricity

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