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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — to tease
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rest — what's left
  10. swing — to play on
  11. rest — what's left
  12. object — an aim
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. object — a thing
  17. rest — a break
  18. kid — child
  19. degree — temperature
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. race — a contest
  24. object — to protest

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