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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: game · degree · pit · mug · stem · season · current · cold

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. season — in sport
  3. mug — to rob
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. current — happening now
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mug — a cup
  9. cold — not warm
  10. season — of the year
  11. pit — a hole
  12. mug — a face
  13. current — electric
  14. pit — in a race
  15. degree — temperature
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. degree — from a university
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cold — an illness
  20. current — of water
  21. game — a match
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cold — the Cold War

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