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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wake — a trail
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. craft — boats
  9. file — a document
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. file — a tool
  12. pop — music
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pop — soda
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. file — a line of people
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. degree — temperature
  24. craft — a skill

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