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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: bat · chest · march · stem · mine · degree · cap · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. chest — a box
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. march — the month
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stem — to come from
  17. march — the month
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. march — music
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stem — a stem cell

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