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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mug — a face
  3. mark — a trace
  4. staff — employees
  5. mark — a grade
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. last — final
  9. present — the time now
  10. mug — a cup
  11. present — a gift
  12. last — to go on
  13. degree — an amount
  14. race — the arms race
  15. staff — a stick
  16. race — humankind
  17. staff — employees
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. last — finally
  23. mug — to rob
  24. present — there

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