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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. root — of a plant
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. net — for catching
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. tear — to rip
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. net — after costs
  13. last — final
  14. net — in sport
  15. root — of a word
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. root — the cause
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hide — animal skin

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