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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. craft — a skill
  3. stand — to bear
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. present — a gift
  6. race — a contest
  7. degree — temperature
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. craft — boats
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. present — there
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. race — humankind
  19. present — the time now
  20. degree — from a university
  21. press — a publisher
  22. race — the arms race
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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