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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. swing — in golf
  3. row — a line
  4. race — the arms race
  5. swing — to play on
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chip — to eat
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. swing — music
  10. race — a contest
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. race — humankind
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rest — a break
  19. bark — to shout
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rest — what's left
  24. degree — an amount

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