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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 120 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: stem · degree · patient · plane · chair · racket

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chair — a leader
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. degree — from a university
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. stem — to come from
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. chair — a professorship

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