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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 120 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: ball · stem · degree · present · ground · tube · craft · rock

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — a stone
  9. degree — temperature
  10. tube — the underground
  11. ground — a position
  12. craft — boats
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ball — a dance
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ball — a great time
  21. stem — to come from
  22. present — there
  23. ground — crushed
  24. stem — 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