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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: rash · chair · net · stem · mouse · degree · calf · fork

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. chair — a leader
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. stem — to come from
  16. fork — in a road
  17. degree — temperature
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. rash — hasty
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. net — for catching

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