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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. game — wild animals
  4. net — in sport
  5. stem — to come from
  6. present — there
  7. net — after costs
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. present — the time now
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. degree — from a university
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — temperature
  19. net — for catching
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. game — a match
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. present — a gift

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