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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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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: squash · shower · stem · bulb · stand · rule · degree · kid

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. shower — rain
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stem — to come from
  11. squash — to crush
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. squash — the sport
  15. degree — from a university
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stand — to bear
  23. rule — a law
  24. bulb — for light

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