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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: bank · wound · cell · foot · stand · spring · degree · stick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. spring — a coil
  3. foot — a measure
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bank — for money
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. spring — of water
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bank — of a river
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. degree — from a university
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bank — for money
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spring — the season
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — an amount

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