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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. race — humankind
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pop — music
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pop — to visit
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ball — a dance
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. race — the arms race
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ground — crushed
  18. race — a contest
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. pop — soda
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. straw — a straw man

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