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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: craft · spring · can · degree · pitcher · stem · wound · rule

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. can — a tin
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. degree — temperature
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rule — government
  13. spring — a coil
  14. craft — boats
  15. spring — the season
  16. rule — a law
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. degree — an amount
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — a skill
  24. spring — of water

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