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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: stem · fine · pound · degree · stand · net · shower · content

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stem — to come from
  4. degree — from a university
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fine — all right
  7. net — after costs
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. net — for catching
  12. fine — high quality
  13. shower — rain
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. net — in sport
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. content — the amount
  19. pound — a weight
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. content — happy
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. degree — temperature

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