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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: dip · chest · degree · pit · swing · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. chest — of your body
  3. dip — to sink
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chest — a box
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — in a race
  12. swing — music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. pit — a hole
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. swing — in golf

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