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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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — an amount
  3. root — the cause
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — temperature
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. field — a subject
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. mark — a grade
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mark — a trace
  19. race — humankind
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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