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

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. face — to confront
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. race — humankind
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. branch — a division
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cap — a lid
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. degree — temperature
  14. face — to point toward
  15. race — a contest
  16. cap — a hat
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cap — of ice
  19. track — a song
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. degree — an amount
  22. track — a path
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fan — a supporter

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