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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — an amount
  4. last — finally
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pass — a permit
  9. mark — a grade
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spell — magic
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mark — a trace
  16. last — to go on
  17. spell — letters
  18. chip — for betting
  19. last — final
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. chip — to eat
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. chip — in a computer

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