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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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Word bank
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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: arm · snap · race · degree · chair · hide

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. race — a contest
  4. snap — to click
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. degree — from a university
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — an amount
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chair — a leader

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