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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: bass · spell · spring · game · stem · arm · degree · calf

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bass — low music
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stem — to come from
  5. game — a match
  6. spring — of water
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. game — wild animals
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. spell — magic
  14. bass — the fish
  15. spell — a short time
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. calf — a young animal

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