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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. board — to get on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bank — of a river
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. ground — crushed
  17. board — a committee
  18. bank — for money
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bank — for money
  22. sharp — clever
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hand — part of the body

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