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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 116 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: degree · mine · snap · cap · nail · face · stand · race

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. race — humankind
  3. mine — for digging
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. degree — an amount
  7. snap — to click
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cap — a lid
  10. race — a contest
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. face — to confront
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cap — of ice
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stand — to bear
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cap — a hat

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