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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: chip · degree · present · wind · stem · arm

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. degree — an amount
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — for betting
  8. present — the time now
  9. wind — moving air
  10. present — a gift
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. present — there

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