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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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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cap — a hat
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. kick — in football
  6. bound — tied together
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bound — obliged
  9. degree — an amount
  10. race — the arms race
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bound — certain
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cap — of ice
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. race — humankind
  17. cap — a lid
  18. firm — steady
  19. degree — from a university
  20. row — a line
  21. firm — a company
  22. race — a contest
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. date — on the calendar

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