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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · degree · stem · capital · press · sharp

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — clever
  4. capital — a city
  5. club — for dancing
  6. press — newspapers
  7. club — for golf
  8. capital — money
  9. club — a group
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. press — a publisher
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. press — to push
  18. stem — to come from

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