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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: degree · present · race · straw · face · mark · lean · cabinet

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lean — thin
  8. present — there
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. degree — an amount
  11. face — to confront
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — a trace
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. face — part of the head
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. degree — from a university

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