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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. ground — a position
  4. present — there
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. race — humankind
  11. wound — an injury
  12. degree — temperature
  13. present — a gift
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rule — government
  19. present — the time now
  20. degree — an amount
  21. rule — a law
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. race — a contest
  24. racket — for tennis

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