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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · roll · arm · fork · file · wave · stem · degree

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. roll — a list
  11. degree — from a university
  12. file — a document
  13. fork — in a road
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stem — to come from
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. chair — a leader
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. file — a tool
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. arm — part of the body

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