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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: mate · dip · stem · fan · degree · cue · band · swing

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mate — a friend
  5. band — a ring
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cue — a signal
  10. swing — music
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cue — for pool
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cue — a hint
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. band — a music group
  22. swing — in golf
  23. mate — to breed
  24. stem — of a plant

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