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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: fall · degree · arm · pound · branch · kid · file · race

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. degree — temperature
  4. file — a tool
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. race — humankind
  10. kid — child
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — to tease
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pound — a weight
  19. branch — a division
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. fall — the season
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. race — a contest

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