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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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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: fine · swing · present · degree · lash · ground · fan · race

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  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. fine — a penalty
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fine — high quality
  4. present — a gift
  5. race — humankind
  6. degree — temperature
  7. swing — in golf
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. race — a contest
  10. degree — from a university
  11. ground — the earth
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fine — all right
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. present — there
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. race — the arms race
  19. present — the time now
  20. swing — music
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. ground — a position
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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