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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ground · spring · vault · stem · fan · degree · bat · bear

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spring — the season
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bear — the animal
  17. ground — a position
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. ground — crushed
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — a safe
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — the animal

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