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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. last — to go on
  2. race — a contest
  3. roll — a list
  4. last — final
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. last — finally
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. race — the arms race
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. roll — a cake
  21. race — humankind
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. game — a match
  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