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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: row · last · object · race · cap · mug · degree · game

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. last — to go on
  3. degree — temperature
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — a thing
  6. last — final
  7. mug — a cup
  8. degree — an amount
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. last — finally
  11. cap — of ice
  12. object — an aim
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. cap — a lid
  18. degree — from a university
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cap — a hat
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. row — a quarrel

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