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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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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: bay · stem · rush · object · club · degree · wound · clip

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. object — to protest
  3. club — for golf
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. object — a thing
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. object — an aim
  8. club — for dancing
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. club — a group
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. degree — temperature
  21. clip — a video
  22. degree — from a university
  23. clip — to cut
  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