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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: dip · cold · degree · wound · stem · saw

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stem — to come from
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. dip — to sink
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — an amount
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. saw — the tool

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