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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: chair · fan · bank · court · fall · root · degree · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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. degree — from a university
  4. root — of a plant
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bank — of a river
  11. root — of a word
  12. court — for sport
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. stem — to come from
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bank — for money
  18. court — of a king
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. court — of law
  21. root — the cause
  22. bank — for money
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chair — a leader

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