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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.

Words on the sheet
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: degree · mine · game · drill · bay · stem · wake · pitch

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. drill — army training
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wake — a trail
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. game — a match
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pitch — completely
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stem — to come from
  24. game — a kind of play

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