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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 120 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: band · shower · stand · face · stem · mate · bulb · degree

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. shower — rain
  4. mate — to breed
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stem — to come from
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mate — a partner
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. degree — an amount
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mate — a friend
  17. face — to point toward
  18. band — a ring
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bulb — for light
  23. face — to confront
  24. stand — for spectators

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