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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 120 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: shower · dip · coach · stick · stem · cell · degree · rule

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. degree — temperature
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. rule — a law
  7. stem — to come from
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rule — government
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cell — a phone
  19. dip — to sink
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. degree — an amount

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