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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: plane · bark · degree · arm · march · jam · race · lie

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. race — a contest
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. march — music
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. degree — an amount
  8. race — the arms race
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. march — the month
  11. plane — a tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. degree — from a university
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. degree — temperature
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. race — humankind
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bark — to shout
  23. march — the month
  24. lie — to recline

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