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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — temperature
  3. key — in music
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. scale — size or range
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. key — for a lock
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stem — to come from
  11. key — the most important part
  12. rash — a series
  13. degree — from a university
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. scale — in music
  21. hand — help
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. degree — an amount

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