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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wind — moving air
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stock — goods
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. can — a tin
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. can — to be able to
  13. degree — temperature
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. spring — the season
  16. sharp — clever
  17. wind — moving air
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. spring — of water
  20. race — the arms race
  21. stock — shares
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. degree — from a university
  24. arm — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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