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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: game · stem · field · club · degree · pass · face · stock

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — temperature
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. degree — an amount
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — a permit
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. face — to point toward
  15. field — farmland
  16. face — to confront
  17. field — a subject
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stock — shares
  21. field — for sport
  22. stock — goods
  23. stem — to come from
  24. club — for dancing

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