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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: stem · game · tear · ruler · spring · snap · degree · branch

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. degree — an amount
  5. spring — a coil
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. game — wild animals
  12. branch — a division
  13. stem — to come from
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. degree — temperature
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — a match
  20. tear — to rip
  21. spring — the season
  22. degree — from a university
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. tear — from crying

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