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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: degree · row · board · sharp · foot · cabinet · stem · pop

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. row — to paddle
  5. foot — a measure
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pop — soda
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. sharp — clever
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. pop — music
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pop — to visit
  22. stem — to come from
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. degree — from a university

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