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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 · wound · cold · bat · staff · degree · spell · ruler

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. spell — magic
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wound — an injury
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bat — the animal
  16. spell — a short time
  17. staff — employees
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stem — to come from
  21. staff — employees
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spell — letters
  24. wound — an injury

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