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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: shower · fan · spring · game · saw · pass · degree · stem

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. pass — a permit
  6. shower — rain
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spring — a coil
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spring — the season
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. spring — of water
  16. degree — temperature
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stem — to come from
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stem — a stem cell

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