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

Word bank: staff · bank · stem · march · degree · bark

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bank — for money
  3. staff — a stick
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bank — for money
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. staff — employees
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bark — to shout
  17. staff — employees
  18. march — the month

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