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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. spring — of water
  3. ground — a position
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. deal — to handle
  11. ground — the earth
  12. capital — a city
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bulb — for light
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — a partner
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. spring — the season
  21. capital — money
  22. bulb — for light
  23. stem — to come from
  24. mate — to breed

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