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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: firm · lean · hand · degree · foot · stick · game · race

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. foot — a measure
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. race — a contest
  6. firm — decided
  7. degree — temperature
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. race — the arms race
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. firm — a company
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. game — wild animals
  15. degree — an amount
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. firm — steady
  19. hand — help
  20. race — humankind
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — thin
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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