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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 · prune · race · stem · chip · degree · patient · press

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bass — low music
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stem — to come from
  8. degree — temperature
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. race — a contest
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. race — humankind
  14. press — to push
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chip — for betting
  18. degree — from a university
  19. press — a publisher
  20. degree — an amount
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. race — the arms race
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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