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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: degree · pitcher · safe · bound · race · cold · wave · straw

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cold — an illness
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. race — a contest
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bound — obliged
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. degree — an amount

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