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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — an amount
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mark — a grade
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — the cause
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. degree — temperature
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. root — of a word
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. mark — a trace
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. degree — from a university
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your 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