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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bound — tied together
  4. degree — temperature
  5. race — the arms race
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — the season
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. swing — music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. spring — of water
  12. bound — obliged
  13. squash — to crush
  14. race — humankind
  15. face — to confront
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. degree — from a university
  20. deal — to handle
  21. bound — certain
  22. face — to point toward
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spring — a coil

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