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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: land · stem · cue · degree · lie · firm · cell · court

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cue — for pool
  4. court — for sport
  5. land — to come down
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. land — a country
  9. court — of law
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. court — of a king
  15. cue — a hint
  16. lie — to recline
  17. stem — to come from
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. degree — an amount
  20. firm — a company
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — steady
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. degree — from a university

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