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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: stem · shower · degree · object · cell · clip · lean · band

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. shower — rain
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. band — a music group
  7. stem — to come from
  8. clip — for paper
  9. object — a thing
  10. band — a ring
  11. object — an aim
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. object — to protest
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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