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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chest — a box
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bound — certain
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bound — obliged
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bound — tied together
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. root — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. root — of a word
  15. rush — hurry
  16. root — the cause
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. branch — a division

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