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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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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: drill · fall · hide · degree · chest · perch · net · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chest — a box
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. degree — an amount
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stem — to come from
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. perch — the fish
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fall — the season
  19. drill — a practice
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. net — for catching
  22. fall — to drop
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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