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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: rash · net · straw · stem · degree · wound · branch · shower

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wound — an injury
  3. shower — to wash
  4. net — for catching
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — rain
  13. stem — to come from
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. degree — from a university
  16. branch — a division
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rash — hasty
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wound — an injury
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. net — after costs
  24. degree — an amount

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