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

Word bank: degree · pitch · safe · race · shower · toast · cell · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. race — the arms race
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pitch — completely
  6. race — a contest
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. race — humankind
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. degree — an amount
  13. content — the amount
  14. toast — bread
  15. shower — to wash
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. cell — a phone
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. content — happy
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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