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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 120 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. court — for sport
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. bark — to shout
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. race — humankind
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. net — for catching
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. race — the arms race
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. degree — temperature
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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