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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: fork · stand · kid · degree · root · race · arm · mark

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. root — of a word
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mark — a trace
  10. stand — to bear
  11. degree — an amount
  12. race — humankind
  13. mark — a grade
  14. degree — from a university
  15. root — the cause
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. fork — in a road
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. root — of a plant
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stand — on your feet

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