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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: march · cue · straw · stem · degree · ground · perch · spring

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. march — music
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. stem — to come from
  6. degree — an amount
  7. march — the month
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — a coil
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. perch — the fish
  14. ground — crushed
  15. spring — of water
  16. degree — temperature
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — from a university
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — a signal
  22. spring — the season
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. perch — for a bird

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