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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: degree · band · craft · mate · bulb · stem · date · snap

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bulb — for light
  5. craft — boats
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bulb — for light
  11. degree — temperature
  12. band — a music group
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. band — a ring
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mate — a friend
  17. degree — an amount
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. date — the fruit
  23. craft — a skill
  24. snap — to click

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