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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. perch — the fish
  4. race — a contest
  5. last — to go on
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. last — finally
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. degree — temperature
  12. race — humankind
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ball — a dance
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. race — the arms race
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pound — a weight
  24. degree — from a university

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