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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · hide · pound · race · can · row · stem · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. race — humankind
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pound — a weight
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. can — to be able to
  8. race — a contest
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. can — a tin
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. degree — an amount
  15. row — to paddle
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stem — to come from
  18. can — a tin
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. row — a line
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. sharp — clever

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