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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 120 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: bowl · stem · swing · chest · degree · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. stem — to come from
  10. degree — an amount
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. swing — in golf
  14. chest — a box
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. chest — of your body
  18. swing — music

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