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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. degree — an amount
  3. net — after costs
  4. squash — the sport
  5. present — a gift
  6. squash — to crush
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. mark — a grade
  10. net — in sport
  11. march — the month
  12. present — the time now
  13. race — the arms race
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. race — a contest
  18. march — music
  19. net — for catching
  20. march — the month
  21. mark — a trace
  22. present — there
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. squash — the vegetable

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