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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · degree · present · cabinet · kid · lean

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — from a university
  3. present — the time now
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — thin
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. race — humankind
  12. kid — child
  13. present — a gift
  14. race — a contest
  15. degree — an amount
  16. present — there
  17. lean — to bend
  18. degree — temperature

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