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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: degree · cell · last · stem · hand · saw · rush · pitch

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. saw — the tool
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. cell — in biology
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rush — hurry
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. last — final
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stem — to come from

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