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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 120 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bank — of a river
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rock — music
  9. drill — army training
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bank — for money
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. game — a match
  16. rock — a stone
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. bank — for money
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. drill — a practice

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