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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: ground · lean · land · toast · degree · drill · bank · shower

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. land — a country
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. ground — the earth
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. bank — for money
  8. land — to come down
  9. drill — army training
  10. lean — to bend
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. degree — from a university
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lean — thin
  16. degree — temperature
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. toast — bread
  19. bank — of a river
  20. drill — the tool
  21. land — ground
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bank — for money
  24. shower — rain

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