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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. plane — a tool
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. degree — from a university
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pit — in a race
  9. degree — temperature
  10. branch — a division
  11. cold — not warm
  12. race — a contest
  13. pit — a hole
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. race — humankind
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. degree — an amount
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cold — an illness

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