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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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Word bank
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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: pit · degree · bat · squash · saw · race · hide · ground

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. ground — the earth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pit — a hole
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. saw — the tool
  15. squash — to crush
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ground — crushed
  19. race — a contest
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ground — a position
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pit — in a race
  24. race — humankind

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