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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. fine — all right
  5. row — to paddle
  6. race — the arms race
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. row — a line
  9. season — of the year
  10. cap — a lid
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fine — high quality
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. race — a contest
  18. season — in sport
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. race — humankind
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cap — a hat
  23. degree — from a university
  24. season — to add flavour

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