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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fall — the season
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. cell — in biology
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. game — a match
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fall — to drop
  24. squash — the sport

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