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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bass — the fish
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spring — the season
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. net — after costs
  13. present — the time now
  14. shower — rain
  15. spring — a coil
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. present — a gift
  18. spring — of water
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bass — low music
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. degree — temperature
  24. present — there

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