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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. present — the time now
  3. wound — an injury
  4. row — to paddle
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. degree — an amount
  9. face — to point toward
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rush — hurry
  12. degree — temperature
  13. row — a line
  14. bound — obliged
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — certain
  18. present — there
  19. present — a gift
  20. face — to confront
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. wound — an injury
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stem — a stem cell

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