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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 124 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. degree — an amount
  5. content — happy
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — from a university
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. race — humankind
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pass — a permit

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