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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. press — a publisher
  4. foot — a measure
  5. wound — an injury
  6. degree — an amount
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. snap — to click
  10. wound — an injury
  11. press — to push
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. craft — a skill
  17. stem — to come from
  18. chip — for betting
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. press — newspapers
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. stem — of a plant

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