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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: mine · degree · craft · date · swing · stem · mate · fall

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. date — the fruit
  8. degree — from a university
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. craft — a skill
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fall — to drop
  21. swing — music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. craft — boats
  24. mate — a partner

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