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

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. dip — to sink
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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