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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: track · arm · race · spring · row · patient · degree · cue

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. spring — a coil
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. race — the arms race
  9. degree — temperature
  10. spring — the season
  11. degree — from a university
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. row — to paddle
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cue — a hint
  16. row — a line
  17. track — a song
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. track — a path
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. race — humankind
  23. track — to keep track
  24. spring — of water

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