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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: stem · degree · scale · patient · content · drill

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. stem — to come from
  5. degree — an amount
  6. drill — a practice
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. scale — in music
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. scale — size or range
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. degree — from a university

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