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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. rest — a break
  7. degree — from a university
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. rest — what's left
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. game — a match
  21. stem — to come from
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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