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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. mate — a friend
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. land — a country
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. race — the arms race
  10. spring — of water
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. land — to come down
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. mate — a partner
  21. land — ground
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mate — to breed

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