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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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Word bank
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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 · tube · foot · hand · degree · rest · arm · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — help
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tube — a container
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. rest — a break
  10. hand — in cards
  11. foot — a measure
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bat — the animal
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — ground
  19. degree — an amount
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. land — to come down
  24. foot — the bottom

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