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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. craft — boats
  3. race — humankind
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. pound — a weight
  7. race — a contest
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stand — to bear
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bear — the animal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. craft — a skill
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. chair — a leader
  24. degree — temperature

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