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

Word bank: chest · degree · last · cap · mark · arm · fall · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cap — a hat
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cap — a lid
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chest — a box
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mark — a grade
  12. last — finally
  13. mark — a trace
  14. cap — of ice
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lean — thin
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go 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