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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bore · rule · coach · stem · net · shower · degree · perch

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rule — a law
  4. bore — to tire
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bore — to drill
  7. degree — temperature
  8. net — after costs
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. net — for catching
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. perch — the fish
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. degree — an amount
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rule — government
  20. shower — to wash
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. shower — rain
  23. net — in sport
  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