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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 · branch · straw · last · snap · firm · craft · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. firm — steady
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. race — a contest
  7. degree — temperature
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. last — final
  11. firm — decided
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. firm — a company
  14. craft — boats
  15. degree — from a university
  16. craft — a skill
  17. snap — to click
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. last — finally
  22. race — humankind
  23. last — to go on
  24. race — the arms race

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