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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: bound · cell · degree · pass · dip · stem · arm · chest

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. stem — to come from
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pass — a permit
  8. cell — a phone
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bound — tied together
  16. degree — from a university
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. dip — to sink
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cell — in biology
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pass — to spend time

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