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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: bore · stem · season · land · fall · pass · snap · degree

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bore — to tire
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. land — ground
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. fall — to drop
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. snap — to click
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bore — to drill
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fall — the season

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