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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: stem · field · mark · degree · squash · bound · cabinet · land

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bound — obliged
  3. field — farmland
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. land — a country
  7. degree — an amount
  8. squash — to crush
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. field — a subject
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. mark — a grade
  13. land — ground
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bound — tied together
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — for sport
  21. stem — to come from
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bound — certain
  24. land — to come down

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