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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: root · mark · bat · cell · stand · degree · spell · stem

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cell — in biology
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spell — magic
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. root — of a plant
  13. spell — a short time
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. spell — letters
  18. stem — to come from
  19. mark — a trace
  20. root — the cause
  21. stand — to bear
  22. degree — from a university
  23. root — of a word
  24. degree — temperature

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