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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: rush · degree · perch · dip · stem · kid · staff · lie

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. lie — to recline
  3. dip — to sink
  4. staff — employees
  5. kid — child
  6. staff — a stick
  7. perch — the fish
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. staff — employees
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. stem — to come from
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rush — hurry
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. degree — temperature
  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