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

Word bank: kick · rash · arm · date · race · key · degree · cue

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. key — for a lock
  3. race — humankind
  4. key — in music
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cue — for pool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. key — the most important part
  12. race — a contest
  13. cue — a hint
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cue — a signal
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. degree — from a university
  22. race — the arms race
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. kick — in football

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