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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. press — to push
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. race — a contest
  7. mug — to rob
  8. race — the arms race
  9. mug — a face
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. degree — from a university
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mug — a cup
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. degree — an amount
  24. race — humankind

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