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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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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 · degree · bank · jam · hand · rule · rest · drill

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bank — of a river
  4. rest — a break
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rest — what's left
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. rule — government
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. drill — a practice
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. degree — an amount
  16. drill — army training
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bank — for money
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rule — a law
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bear — to put up with
  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