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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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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: file · degree · net · kick · deal · racket · kid · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. net — in sport
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. net — after costs
  7. kid — child
  8. degree — from a university
  9. deal — to handle
  10. file — a tool
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kick — in football
  13. file — a line of people
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. net — for catching
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. kid — to tease
  19. file — a document
  20. stem — to come from
  21. degree — temperature
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. degree — an amount
  24. racket — a loud noise

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