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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. race — a contest
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. degree — from a university
  5. race — the arms race
  6. tube — a container
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. capital — a city
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — an amount
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. game — wild animals
  18. race — humankind
  19. tube — the underground
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bulb — for light
  22. capital — money
  23. game — a match
  24. arm — part of the body

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