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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — to come down
  12. stem — to come from
  13. land — a country
  14. firm — a company
  15. land — ground
  16. firm — steady
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. lie — to recline
  19. spring — of water
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. firm — decided
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. lie — an untruth

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