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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. key — for a lock
  6. can — a tin
  7. degree — an amount
  8. can — to be able to
  9. drill — a practice
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. can — a tin
  14. degree — from a university
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. key — in music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — army training
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. drill — the tool
  24. stem — to come from

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