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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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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: chair · hide · degree · squash · race · mine · spell · safe

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. spell — a short time
  3. squash — to crush
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. race — the arms race
  8. degree — an amount
  9. race — humankind
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mine — for digging
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. race — a contest
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. safe — out of danger

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