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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. degree — an amount
  3. ground — crushed
  4. craft — boats
  5. cue — for pool
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. ground — the earth
  8. mate — a friend
  9. degree — from a university
  10. race — humankind
  11. ground — a position
  12. swing — music
  13. cue — a signal
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. craft — a skill
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mate — a partner
  20. cue — a hint
  21. degree — temperature
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mate — to breed

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