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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. degree — from a university
  3. court — of a king
  4. dip — to sink
  5. root — the cause
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. court — for sport
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ground — the earth
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. ground — a position
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. press — newspapers
  19. court — of law
  20. press — to push
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ground — crushed

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