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

Word bank: degree · kick · stem · last · wind · foot

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — to go on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. degree — an amount
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. last — final
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. last — finally
  18. wind — to turn a key

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