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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bass — low music
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. chair — a leader
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. bound — certain
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bound — tied together
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. branch — a division
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bass — the fish
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. race — the arms race

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