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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stem — to come from
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rock — a stone
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. hand — help
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mate — a friend
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. mate — a partner
  16. rock — music
  17. pound — a weight
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. degree — from a university
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mate — to breed
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. degree — temperature

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