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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 120 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 · calf · squash · race · degree · pass · rest · field

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. pass — a permit
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. race — humankind
  11. degree — an amount
  12. squash — the sport
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. degree — from a university
  17. field — for sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. degree — temperature
  23. race — a contest
  24. calf — a young animal

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