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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: wave · fan · object · arm · drill · stem · hand · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. degree — temperature
  7. object — a thing
  8. degree — an amount
  9. object — an aim
  10. hand — help
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. object — to protest
  14. drill — army training
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. stem — to come from
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. drill — the tool
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. fan — a supporter

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