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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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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: wind · ground · degree · rest · stem · bear

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. degree — an amount
  11. ground — a position
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rest — a break
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wind — moving air

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