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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. race — a contest
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. race — humankind
  15. pop — music
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pit — in a race
  21. degree — temperature
  22. race — the arms race
  23. dip — to sink
  24. degree — an amount

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