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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. race — the arms race
  3. ground — crushed
  4. foot — a measure
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spell — magic
  8. field — a subject
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spell — letters
  11. degree — temperature
  12. field — for sport
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. field — farmland
  15. degree — an amount
  16. race — humankind
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. spell — a short time
  20. race — a contest
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. degree — from a university
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. foot — the bottom

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