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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. race — a contest
  3. squash — the sport
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. degree — from a university
  9. squash — to crush
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. tear — from crying
  14. race — humankind
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. sharp — clever
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. track — a path
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. race — the arms race
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. sharp — exactly

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