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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: bat · fine · arm · race · cap · ground · nail · fall

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fine — all right
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. cap — a lid
  7. race — a contest
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. fall — to drop
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. race — humankind
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fall — the season
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ground — the earth

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