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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: staff · toast · foot · kid · mark · race · row · sharp

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mark — a grade
  4. race — a contest
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. row — a line
  8. foot — a measure
  9. staff — a stick
  10. mark — a trace
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. race — the arms race
  13. toast — bread
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. kid — child
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. race — humankind
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. row — to paddle
  24. foot — part of the body

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