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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rest — what's left
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wake — a trail
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rest — what's left
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. race — a contest
  11. rest — a break
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. kick — in football
  22. race — humankind
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bulb — of a plant

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