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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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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: bear · stem · object · ground · degree · band · club · file

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. club — for golf
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. band — a ring
  10. file — a document
  11. club — a group
  12. bear — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. ground — crushed
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. ground — the earth
  20. club — for dancing
  21. object — an aim
  22. file — a tool
  23. ground — a position
  24. file — a line of people

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