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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 120 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: fork · race · arm · march · snap · stand · degree · swing

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stand — to bear
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fork — in a road
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. race — humankind
  8. swing — music
  9. degree — from a university
  10. race — the arms race
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. swing — to play on
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. swing — in golf
  18. degree — an amount
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. march — the month
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. degree — temperature
  24. snap — to click

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