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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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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: shower · kick · degree · bound · stem · rule

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. 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. shower — a meteor shower
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. stem — to come from
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bound — obliged
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. degree — an amount
  18. 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