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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: mate · object · stem · bound · kick · arm · content · degree

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. degree — temperature
  4. kick — in football
  5. bound — tied together
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. object — a thing
  8. bound — certain
  9. degree — an amount
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. content — happy
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — an aim
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. degree — from a university
  20. content — the amount
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bound — obliged
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. stem — of a plant

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