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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. foot — a measure
  3. race — a contest
  4. tear — from crying
  5. net — for catching
  6. degree — an amount
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. track — a song
  9. tear — from crying
  10. present — the time now
  11. race — humankind
  12. object — a thing
  13. net — after costs
  14. track — to keep track
  15. degree — temperature
  16. present — there
  17. tear — to rip
  18. race — the arms race
  19. degree — from a university
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — to protest
  22. present — a gift
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. net — in sport

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