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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 116 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stem — to come from
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. degree — temperature
  7. tear — from crying
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cell — in biology
  10. degree — an amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cell — a phone
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. tear — to rip
  16. spring — the season
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — to get on
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stem — a stem cell

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