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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 120 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: shower · kick · degree · bound · stem · rule · foot · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. shower — rain
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. rule — government
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — tied together
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. rule — a law
  13. stem — to come from
  14. chest — a box
  15. degree — an amount
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. kick — in football
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. degree — temperature
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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