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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 116 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: race · safe · wave · season · bowl · fan · degree · cold

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. race — the arms race
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. race — humankind
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. season — of the year
  14. race — a contest
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. season — in sport
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cold — the Cold War

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