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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: jam · row · degree · tear · spring · stem · pop · lean

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lean — to bend
  5. row — to paddle
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. spring — the season
  8. degree — temperature
  9. row — a line
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tear — to rip
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pop — music
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pop — soda
  18. lean — thin
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pop — to visit
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. jam — in traffic

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