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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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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: kid · degree · present · squash · stem · rule · mouse · sharp

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. degree — temperature
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. squash — the sport
  12. degree — from a university
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. rule — a law
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. present — there
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kid — child
  24. rule — government

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