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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — money
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. lie — to recline
  8. chair — a leader
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. roll — a list
  14. scale — in music
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. capital — a city
  18. scale — size or range
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. stem — to come from
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. roll — a cake

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