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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: staff · press · stem · bulb · degree · band

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. staff — employees
  7. bulb — for light
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. press — newspapers
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bulb — for light
  14. band — a music group
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. band — a ring
  17. press — a publisher
  18. staff — a stick

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