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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: cap · craft · race · bass · fine · arm · deal · degree

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. degree — an amount
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. craft — boats
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cap — a lid
  11. degree — from a university
  12. race — a contest
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. race — the arms race
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cap — a hat
  21. fine — all right
  22. deal — to handle
  23. craft — a skill
  24. race — humankind

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