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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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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: rush · root · cap · stem · bat · degree · swing · snap

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. swing — in golf
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bat — the animal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. snap — to click
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cap — a lid
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cap — a hat
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cap — of ice
  19. swing — to play on
  20. degree — temperature
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rush — to hurry

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