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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. stand — to bear
  6. lean — to bend
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wax — to grow
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lean — thin
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. game — a match
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. stem — to come from
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. stand — for spectators

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