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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. capital — money
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ball — a great time
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. capital — a city
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. degree — from a university
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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