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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: stem · toast · lie · tear · degree · hand · kick · chair

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. hand — in cards
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. kick — in football
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stem — to come from
  13. hand — help
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. chair — a leader
  17. toast — bread
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. lie — to recline
  23. degree — temperature
  24. tear — to rip

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