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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: stock · spring · root · cap · shower · degree · stem · cabinet

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stem — to come from
  5. root — the cause
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. stock — goods
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. degree — temperature
  19. shower — rain
  20. spring — the season
  21. cap — of ice
  22. stock — shares
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cap — a hat

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