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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. last — final
  4. degree — from a university
  5. perch — the fish
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. degree — temperature
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cell — in biology
  11. last — to go on
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. plane — a tool
  14. suit — to fit
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. suit — in cards
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stem — to come from
  20. last — finally
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. suit — clothes

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