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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. toast — bread
  4. clip — for paper
  5. content — happy
  6. race — the arms race
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. content — the amount
  9. clip — to cut
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. clip — a video
  13. degree — from a university
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. race — a contest
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. race — humankind
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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