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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. kid — to tease
  7. root — of a word
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. root — of a plant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. root — the cause
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. stem — to come from
  16. kid — child
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bowl — to roll

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