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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pop — music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — an amount
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pop — soda
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — to visit
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. race — the arms race
  16. degree — from a university
  17. race — humankind
  18. foot — a measure
  19. bat — the animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. race — a contest
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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