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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. race — the arms race
  4. key — for a lock
  5. firm — a company
  6. land — a country
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. kid — child
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. land — ground
  16. kid — to tease
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. firm — steady
  19. key — in music
  20. land — to come down
  21. key — the most important part
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. firm — decided
  24. foot — a measure

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