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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: game · stem · cold · wound · bulb · degree · safe · pitcher

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cold — not warm
  8. game — a match
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bulb — for light
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — an illness
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stem — to come from
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — an amount

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