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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cue — for pool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chair — a leader
  7. race — humankind
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cue — a signal
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. race — the arms race
  13. dip — to sink
  14. face — part of the head
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. face — to confront
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cue — a hint
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. face — to point toward

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