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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: plane · clip · tear · degree · row · stem · pound · stand

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. row — a line
  5. tear — to rip
  6. degree — temperature
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. degree — from a university
  9. clip — to cut
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — a video
  14. plane — a tool
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. clip — for paper
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — a weight
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stem — to come from
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stem — a stem cell

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