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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 116 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: wound · snap · lie · hand · craft · stem · staff · degree

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — an amount
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. stem — to come from
  7. lie — to recline
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. craft — a skill
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. staff — a stick
  12. craft — boats
  13. degree — temperature
  14. staff — employees
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — help
  22. staff — employees
  23. snap — to click
  24. degree — from a university

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