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

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ground — the earth
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. branch — a division
  9. ground — crushed
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. ground — a position
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. capital — money
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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