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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.

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: spell · date · stem · file · lean · patient · net · degree

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. net — in sport
  3. spell — magic
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. degree — an amount
  6. spell — a short time
  7. date — the fruit
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stem — to come from
  10. file — a tool
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. degree — from a university
  13. file — a line of people
  14. net — after costs
  15. spell — letters
  16. file — a document
  17. lean — to bend
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. degree — temperature
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. net — for catching
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stem — of a plant

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