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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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468
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: pitcher · land · tear · stand · wake · degree · pass · bank

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bank — for money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. land — a country
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pass — a permit
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bank — for money

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