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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 116 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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. race — the arms race
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lean — thin
  8. race — a contest
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. row — to paddle
  14. race — humankind
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. lean — to bend
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. degree — an amount

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