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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. row — a line
  3. present — a gift
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spell — magic
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. spell — letters
  10. mate — to breed
  11. present — there
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mate — a friend
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — humankind
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spell — a short time
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. present — the time now
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. degree — from a university
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wake — a trail

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