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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ruler · racket · degree · shower · file · stem

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. 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. ruler — for measuring
  2. shower — rain
  3. file — a document
  4. stem — to come from
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. file — a line of people
  8. shower — to wash
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. file — a tool
  18. 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