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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. race — humankind
  4. fall — to drop
  5. net — after costs
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. fall — to drop
  9. season — in sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. season — of the year
  12. fall — the season
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. net — for catching
  16. ball — a great time
  17. net — in sport
  18. race — the arms race
  19. degree — from a university
  20. race — a contest
  21. degree — an amount
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. leaves — of a tree

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