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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — from a university
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. board — to get on
  12. press — to push
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. press — a publisher
  17. fine — high quality
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fine — all right
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. press — newspapers
  23. board — a committee
  24. stem — a stem cell

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