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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: present · capital · bear · file · stem · degree

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. degree — an amount
  3. present — a gift
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. capital — money
  7. file — a document
  8. present — the time now
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. degree — temperature
  12. capital — a city
  13. present — there
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bear — the animal

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