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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: mug · bowl · race · last · cap · arm · bat · branch

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. last — to go on
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. branch — a division
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. race — a contest
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. race — humankind
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. last — final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mug — a cup
  21. last — finally
  22. mug — a face
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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