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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. degree — from a university
  4. last — to go on
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. degree — an amount
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — an injury
  12. board — a committee
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. last — final
  18. tear — from crying
  19. degree — temperature
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wound — an injury
  24. board — to get on

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