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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: race · degree · nail · bowl · lie · ball · vault · squash

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. degree — an amount
  4. race — the arms race
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. lie — to recline
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. squash — to crush
  16. degree — temperature
  17. ball — a great time
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ball — a dance
  24. nail — for a hammer

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