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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kid — to tease
  6. firm — decided
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — of a king
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. firm — a company
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. degree — an amount
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. court — for sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. court — of law
  22. firm — steady
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. kid — child

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