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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 120 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. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. plane — a tool
  4. row — a line
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. scale — in music
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chair — a leader
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. scale — size or range
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chair — a professorship

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