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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
468
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: patient · land · ball · scale · race · stem · degree · root

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. race — a contest
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. root — of a word
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. degree — from a university
  9. land — ground
  10. scale — size or range
  11. race — humankind
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. land — to come down
  15. root — of a plant
  16. land — a country
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. root — the cause
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a dance
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. race — the arms race

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