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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: degree · wake · game · spring · board · stem · squash · band

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. spring — of water
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. degree — from a university
  8. spring — the season
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. spring — a coil
  17. band — a music group
  18. stem — to come from
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a committee
  24. band — a ring

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