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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: degree · stem · hand · pop · press · safe · prune · fan

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pop — to visit
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. degree — temperature
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pop — music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stem — to come from
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pop — soda
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. degree — from a university
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. press — newspapers
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. press — to push
  24. hand — help

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