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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. degree — from a university
  3. net — after costs
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. degree — temperature
  7. hand — help
  8. race — a contest
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pop — to visit
  12. degree — an amount
  13. race — humankind
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. swing — music
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pop — soda
  21. swing — to play on
  22. pop — music
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. swing — in golf

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