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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: game · present · bore · file · straw · pop · stem · degree

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. file — a line of people
  3. present — a gift
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bore — to drill
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. file — a document
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pop — soda
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bore — to tire
  18. pop — music
  19. file — a tool
  20. game — a match
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. degree — temperature

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