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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: roll · mark · stem · scale · season · land · degree · mate

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. land — a country
  6. mark — a grade
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — a list
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. mark — a trace
  13. degree — an amount
  14. season — in sport
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. season — of the year
  18. land — to come down
  19. mate — a partner
  20. scale — size or range
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. scale — in music
  24. degree — temperature

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