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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 120 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: arm · degree · nail · land · coach · club · race · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. club — for dancing
  3. land — to come down
  4. club — for golf
  5. race — a contest
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. land — ground
  8. degree — from a university
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. club — a group
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. race — the arms race
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. race — humankind
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. degree — temperature
  19. land — a country
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pop — music
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pop — soda
  24. arm — a part of something

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