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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. race — the arms race
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — humankind
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — a skill
  19. degree — an amount
  20. craft — boats
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. race — a contest
  23. wind — moving air
  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