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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: degree · hand · last · arm · fan · tear · mate · can

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — in cards
  7. last — finally
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mate — a partner
  11. tear — from crying
  12. last — final
  13. can — a tin
  14. mate — to breed
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. degree — temperature
  18. can — a tin
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mate — a friend
  21. hand — help
  22. can — to be able to
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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