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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. file — a document
  4. race — a contest
  5. season — of the year
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. season — in sport
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. file — a line of people
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. degree — temperature
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. chair — a leader
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. file — a tool
  21. stem — to come from
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — a measure
  24. stem — of a plant

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