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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: spring · fall · cap · bulb · stem · degree · hide · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cap — of ice
  3. degree — temperature
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. fall — to drop
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cap — a lid
  12. degree — from a university
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. stem — to come from
  16. fall — the season
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cap — a hat
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bulb — for light
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. spring — a coil

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