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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 116 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. cap — of ice
  3. race — a contest
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cap — a lid
  7. ball — a great time
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — employees
  13. cap — a hat
  14. staff — employees
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pass — a permit
  17. staff — a stick
  18. stem — to come from
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. race — humankind
  22. tear — from crying
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stem — a stem cell

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