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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 116 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: march · stem · pound · bat · press · mouse · degree · spring

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. march — the month
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. march — music
  4. press — newspapers
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. degree — from a university
  7. spring — the season
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stem — to come from
  12. march — the month
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. press — to push
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bat — for baseball
  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