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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: bowl · pound · wound · current · hide · cell · stem · degree

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. current — happening now
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. current — electric
  18. pound — a weight
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. current — of water
  23. degree — from a university
  24. wound — an injury

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