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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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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: rule · degree · season · cold · stem · stick

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — in sport
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rule — government
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. degree — temperature
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rule — a law

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