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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: spell · deal · degree · press · stem · tear

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. spell — letters
  3. degree — from a university
  4. press — newspapers
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. press — a publisher
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — to come from
  9. spell — a short time
  10. deal — to handle
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — magic
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. press — to push
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. tear — to rip

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