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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mate — to breed
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wake — a trail
  6. clip — a video
  7. degree — an amount
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. scale — in music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. chair — a leader
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. clip — to cut
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mate — a partner
  19. club — a group
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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