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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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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. saw — the tool
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bore — to tire
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. race — a contest
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. degree — temperature
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stem — to come from
  18. track — a path
  19. saw — the tool
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. track — a song
  23. race — humankind
  24. season — to add flavour

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