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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: lean · ball · can · stem · degree · bass · cold · fan

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stem — to come from
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. can — a tin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bass — low music
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — an illness
  16. can — a tin
  17. bass — the fish
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. degree — an amount
  20. lean — to bend
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. stem — a stem cell

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