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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: bat · degree · current · mate · toast · roll · stem · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  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. bass — the instrument
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. current — electric
  4. bass — the fish
  5. toast — bread
  6. current — of water
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stem — to come from
  11. roll — a list
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. roll — a cake
  17. mate — a friend
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. current — happening now
  20. bass — low music
  21. mate — a partner
  22. degree — from a university
  23. toast — the most admired
  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