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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cap — a hat
  3. degree — an amount
  4. race — a contest
  5. degree — from a university
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. fine — high quality
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kid — child
  13. fall — to drop
  14. race — the arms race
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. fine — all right
  17. bear — the animal
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. fall — the season

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