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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. current — of water
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. last — finally
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. current — happening now
  8. race — humankind
  9. degree — from a university
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. scale — in music
  12. last — to go on
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. current — electric
  15. race — a contest
  16. last — final
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mine — for digging
  20. race — the arms race
  21. degree — temperature
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. scale — size or range
  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