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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. rest — what's left
  3. game — a match
  4. board — a committee
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. degree — temperature
  9. squash — the sport
  10. rest — what's left
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rest — a break
  18. degree — an amount
  19. shower — rain
  20. degree — from a university
  21. race — humankind
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. board — to get on

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