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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: squash · straw · root · cap · degree · mine · stem · branch

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. squash — the sport
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cap — of ice
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. degree — an amount
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cap — a lid
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a word
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cap — a hat
  22. degree — temperature
  23. branch — a division
  24. root — 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