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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: wind · pound · object · degree · kick · stem

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wind — moving air
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. degree — from a university
  9. object — to protest
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. object — a thing
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. object — an aim
  17. pound — a weight
  18. kick — in football

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