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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · cabinet · land · stem · bore · spring · squash · degree

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bore — to drill
  6. scale — in music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. squash — the sport
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spring — of water
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spring — the season
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. spring — a coil
  24. land — to come down

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