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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 · degree · hand · race · face · pass · current · pitch

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. race — the arms race
  3. hand — in cards
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. face — to confront
  11. current — happening now
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. race — a contest
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pass — a permit
  20. current — electric
  21. hand — help
  22. current — of water
  23. race — humankind
  24. arm — part of the body

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