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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · chest · degree · stem · fork · press · file · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hand — help
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. degree — temperature
  9. press — to push
  10. chest — of your body
  11. press — newspapers
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. file — a tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. file — a document
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bass — the fish
  20. degree — from a university
  21. press — a publisher
  22. chest — a box
  23. stem — to come from
  24. hand — in cards

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