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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: kid · rash · rock · mark · degree · row · straw · stem

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mark — a trace
  4. rash — a series
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — to come from
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kid — to tease
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rash — hasty
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. row — a line
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. kid — child
  17. rock — a stone
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rock — music
  20. mark — a grade
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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