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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: cue · hand · safe · wound · race · degree · chip · ground

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wound — an injury
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. hand — in cards
  6. degree — from a university
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cue — a signal
  10. degree — an amount
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. ground — the earth
  13. hand — help
  14. wound — an injury
  15. ground — a position
  16. race — a contest
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cue — for pool
  19. ground — crushed
  20. chip — for betting
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chip — to eat
  23. race — humankind
  24. safe — out of danger

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