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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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Word bank
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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: bark · stem · racket · drill · degree · present

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. degree — an amount
  3. present — there
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. present — the time now
  6. drill — army training
  7. present — a gift
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. drill — a practice
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bark — to shout
  16. drill — the tool
  17. degree — temperature
  18. racket — for tennis

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