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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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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: bat · degree · spring · mouse · land · fan · arm · cue

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bat — the animal
  4. land — to come down
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spring — of water
  9. land — ground
  10. cue — a hint
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. land — a country
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spring — the season
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — for pool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. arm — a part of something

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