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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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Word bank
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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rest — a break
  6. degree — from a university
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. race — the arms race
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rest — what's left
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. game — wild animals
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. game — a match
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rest — what's left
  23. snap — to click
  24. patient — a sick person

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