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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: spring · press · stem · toast · rock · game · degree · mine

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stem — to come from
  4. spring — the season
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rock — a stone
  7. degree — from a university
  8. press — newspapers
  9. toast — bread
  10. game — a match
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. press — to push
  17. mine — for digging
  18. spring — a coil
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. degree — an amount
  21. rock — music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spring — of water
  24. press — a publisher

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