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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. degree — an amount
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. drill — a practice
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pit — in a race
  23. drill — army training
  24. bass — low music

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