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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: charge · hand · arm · shower · degree · kid · stem · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. shower — rain
  11. kid — to tease
  12. charge — in control
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. kid — child
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stem — to come from
  17. charge — electricity
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. charge — a price
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. degree — temperature
  22. hand — help
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bowl — a dish

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