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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. file — a tool
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. degree — temperature
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cell — a phone
  11. degree — from a university
  12. firm — decided
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. race — a contest
  15. file — a line of people
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. firm — a company
  18. degree — an amount
  19. firm — steady
  20. file — a document
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cell — in biology

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