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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. net — after costs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. root — of a plant
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. degree — an amount
  9. clip — to cut
  10. race — humankind
  11. pit — in a race
  12. race — the arms race
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. degree — temperature
  15. clip — for paper
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. pit — a hole
  18. net — for catching
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. clip — a video
  21. net — in sport
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. lash — to lash out

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