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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. lean — to bend
  3. race — the arms race
  4. board — a committee
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. race — humankind
  8. lean — thin
  9. degree — from a university
  10. race — a contest
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. hand — help
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. lean — to rest against

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