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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: racket · bound · ground · rule · stem · lash · coach · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bound — certain
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bound — obliged
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. ground — a position
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. ground — the earth
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. degree — from a university
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rule — a law
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. bound — tied together
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rule — government
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stem — to come from
  24. degree — temperature

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