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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. present — a gift
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. degree — temperature
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. spring — the season
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. race — humankind
  13. spring — a coil
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — money
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. race — a contest
  20. roll — a cake
  21. degree — an amount
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. spring — of water
  24. capital — a city

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