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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: chair · stick · degree · ball · dip · wound · stem · content

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. ball — a dance
  10. content — happy
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chair — a leader
  13. dip — to sink
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. content — the amount
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. ball — a great time
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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