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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. race — a contest
  3. face — to confront
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. squash — the sport
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. race — humankind
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. swing — music
  14. face — to point toward
  15. ball — a dance
  16. swing — in golf
  17. degree — an amount
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mine — for digging
  23. squash — to crush
  24. degree — temperature

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