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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: chest · row · club · file · stem · rock · degree · stick

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. file — a tool
  4. club — for golf
  5. stem — to come from
  6. row — a line
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rock — music
  10. file — a document
  11. rock — a stone
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — temperature
  15. club — for dancing
  16. file — a line of people
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. degree — an amount
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. club — a group
  21. chest — of your body
  22. row — to paddle
  23. chest — a box
  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