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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. can — to be able to
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. degree — temperature
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. row — a line
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. rush — hurry
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stem — to come from

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