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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rash — a series
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. press — to push
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. press — newspapers
  17. file — a document
  18. rash — hasty
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. file — a tool
  24. degree — from a university

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