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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: lean · foot · degree · stem · spell · pound · squash · charge

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. charge — electricity
  3. degree — from a university
  4. charge — a price
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spell — letters
  7. squash — to crush
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stem — to come from
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. lean — thin
  14. spell — magic
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pound — a weight
  20. charge — in control
  21. foot — a measure
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pound — for dogs

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