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

Word bank: pit · degree · staff · arm · fall · tear

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in 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. degree — temperature
  3. tear — to rip
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pit — a hole
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pit — in a race
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fall — the season

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