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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: squash · board · clip · coach · pop · kid · degree · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pop — to visit
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. kid — child
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pop — music
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. squash — to crush
  16. clip — for paper
  17. degree — temperature
  18. clip — a video
  19. stem — to come from
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. board — a committee
  22. pop — soda
  23. degree — an amount
  24. board — to get on

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