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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: last · season · patient · band · stem · root · rush · degree

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. band — a music group
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. season — of the year
  12. last — to go on
  13. root — the cause
  14. rush — hurry
  15. stem — to come from
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. root — of a word
  19. season — in sport
  20. degree — temperature
  21. last — final
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. root — of a plant
  24. patient — a sick person

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