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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: race · degree · band · wound · arm · pit · mark · dip

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mark — a trace
  3. dip — to sink
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — an amount
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. pit — in a race
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wound — an injury
  14. race — humankind
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. degree — from a university
  18. race — a contest
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. degree — temperature
  21. band — a ring
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a music group
  24. dip — a sauce

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