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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 116 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: degree · leaves · race · club · stem · pop

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pop — music
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. degree — from a university
  5. race — a contest
  6. degree — an amount
  7. race — the arms race
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. stem — to come from
  13. race — humankind
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. club — a group
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. club — for golf

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