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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: foot · mine · race · pass · content · trunk · straw · degree

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. race — a contest
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. degree — temperature
  6. race — humankind
  7. degree — an amount
  8. race — the arms race
  9. content — the amount
  10. pass — a permit
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. degree — from a university
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. content — happy
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. straw — dry grass

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