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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. race — humankind
  4. hand — in cards
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. race — the arms race
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kid — child
  14. foot — a measure
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pound — a weight
  18. race — a contest
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. tear — to rip
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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