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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: press · stem · cue · band · season · degree · club · trunk

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. press — to push
  3. club — for dancing
  4. degree — an amount
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. club — for golf
  7. press — newspapers
  8. degree — from a university
  9. season — in sport
  10. cue — for pool
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cue — a hint
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. club — a group
  17. stem — to come from
  18. season — of the year
  19. degree — temperature
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. band — a music group
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. band — a ring
  24. cue — a signal

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