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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. club — for dancing
  3. foot — a measure
  4. stem — to come from
  5. net — in sport
  6. bore — to tire
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bank — for money
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bank — for money
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. club — for golf
  16. net — for catching
  17. cold — an illness
  18. net — after costs
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bank — of a river
  21. club — a group
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cold — not warm

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