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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: degree · wind · club · ground · bowl · roll · stem · band

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. club — for dancing
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. roll — a cake
  14. degree — from a university
  15. roll — a list
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a music group
  18. club — for golf
  19. degree — an amount
  20. club — a group
  21. stem — to come from
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. degree — temperature

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