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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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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: press · pound · row · bank · degree · foot · stem · shower

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bank — for money
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. shower — rain
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bank — for money
  11. foot — a measure
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. row — a line
  14. bank — of a river
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pound — a weight
  21. stem — to come from
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. row — to paddle
  24. press — to push

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