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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. stem — to come from
  3. chip — to eat
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. degree — from a university
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. drill — the tool
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. object — a thing
  14. drill — army training
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. chip — for betting
  17. drill — a practice
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. dip — to sink
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. object — an aim
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fan — a supporter

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