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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. race — a contest
  3. kid — child
  4. rush — hurry
  5. race — humankind
  6. can — to be able to
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. last — to go on
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. net — in sport
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. last — final
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. can — a tin
  20. net — after costs
  21. can — a tin
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. race — the arms race
  24. net — for catching

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