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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. rest — what's left
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rest — what's left
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rest — a break
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pit — in a race
  20. row — a line
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. degree — temperature
  23. race — the arms race
  24. row — a quarrel

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