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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — temperature
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. degree — an amount
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. degree — from a university
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. foot — a measure

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