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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. mine — for digging
  3. land — a country
  4. degree — from a university
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. board — a committee
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. board — to get on
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wake — a trail
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. stem — to come from
  22. deal — to handle
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rush — hurry

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