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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. spell — a short time
  3. file — a document
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. file — a line of people
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. degree — temperature
  9. spell — magic
  10. hand — help
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. dip — to sink
  15. race — humankind
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. spell — letters
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. file — a tool
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. degree — from a university

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