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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: dip · chest · club · staff · kid · saw · stem · degree

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chest — a box
  3. degree — temperature
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chest — of your body
  8. club — for dancing
  9. dip — to sink
  10. club — a group
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. kid — to tease
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. degree — an amount
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. saw — the tool
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. chest — of your body
  22. club — for golf
  23. staff — employees
  24. saw — the tool

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