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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: stem · patient · spring · rash · degree · court · track · pitch

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. court — of a king
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. spring — of water
  7. degree — temperature
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. degree — from a university
  10. spring — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. track — a song
  13. rash — hasty
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. court — for sport
  17. rash — a series
  18. pitch — completely
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. court — of law
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. track — a path
  23. degree — an amount
  24. track — to keep track

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