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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 124 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: rest · degree · present · straw · plane · stem

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rest — what's left
  3. present — a gift
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. degree — from a university
  6. present — the time now
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. present — there
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. rest — a break
  11. plane — a tool
  12. stem — to come from
  13. degree — temperature
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man

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