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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pit — in a race
  5. race — the arms race
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. race — a contest
  11. drill — a practice
  12. season — of the year
  13. degree — an amount
  14. season — in sport
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. pit — a hole
  18. drill — army training
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mark — a trace
  24. race — humankind

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