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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · fan · lie · bulb · bound · stem · mine · scale

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bound — obliged
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mine — for digging
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bulb — for light
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bound — certain
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. scale — in music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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