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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rash — hasty
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bank — for money
  5. drill — a practice
  6. degree — an amount
  7. race — humankind
  8. bank — for money
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. drill — army training
  12. tear — to rip
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rash — a series
  17. bank — of a river
  18. race — a contest
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. race — the arms race

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