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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: bank · degree · file · cold · drill · firm · ground · chest

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. firm — steady
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bank — for money
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — a position
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bank — of a river
  10. degree — an amount
  11. drill — army training
  12. cold — not warm
  13. drill — the tool
  14. ground — the earth
  15. drill — a practice
  16. firm — a company
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. firm — decided
  23. bank — for money
  24. ground — crushed

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