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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: last · content · race · pitcher · cell · degree · calf · arm

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. race — the arms race
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. race — humankind
  12. cell — in biology
  13. degree — temperature
  14. race — a contest
  15. cell — a phone
  16. last — finally
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. degree — an amount
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. degree — from a university
  24. calf — of the leg

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