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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bowl · stem · rest · pop · fan · track · file · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pop — soda
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. file — a document
  6. track — to keep track
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rest — a break
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pop — music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. track — a path
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. track — a song
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. file — a tool
  24. stem — to come from

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