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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fan · shower · row · cell · degree · coach · net · stem

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cell — in biology
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stem — to come from
  7. net — after costs
  8. degree — an amount
  9. row — to paddle
  10. shower — rain
  11. row — a line
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. shower — to wash
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. net — for catching
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cell — a phone
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fan — a supporter

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