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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. tube — a container
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. degree — temperature
  5. drill — a practice
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. drill — army training
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tube — the underground
  10. race — a contest
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. spell — magic
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pitch — completely
  23. race — humankind
  24. degree — from a university

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