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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. race — humankind
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. degree — from a university
  5. season — of the year
  6. hand — help
  7. season — in sport
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. race — a contest
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. hand — in cards
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. ball — a dance
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chair — a leader
  23. hand — part of the body
  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