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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. degree — from a university
  4. race — a contest
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cold — not warm
  7. race — humankind
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. stand — to bear
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mate — a friend
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cold — an illness
  18. present — there
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. present — the time now
  21. degree — temperature
  22. present — a gift
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. rash — a series

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