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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
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: lash · wave · capital · stem · game · degree · ground · fan

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. capital — money
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. degree — from a university
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. capital — a city
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. game — a match
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ground — crushed
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. ground — the earth
  22. game — wild animals
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. ground — a position

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