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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: hand · cell · stem · sharp · lean · pop · tube · degree

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cell — in biology
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. degree — temperature
  7. hand — in cards
  8. sharp — clever
  9. tube — a container
  10. degree — an amount
  11. hand — help
  12. pop — soda
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pop — music
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — a phone
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. lean — thin
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. hand — part of the body

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