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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: straw · patient · degree · stem · date · pitch · spell · bat

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. stem — to come from
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitch — completely
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. date — the fruit
  10. spell — a short time
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spell — magic
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spell — letters
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. degree — temperature
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bat — the animal
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. straw — dry grass

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