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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 · kid · craft · drill · saw · stand · ground · stem

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. stand — to bear
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. degree — from a university
  5. drill — the tool
  6. craft — a skill
  7. drill — army training
  8. degree — an amount
  9. saw — the tool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. ground — crushed
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. ground — the earth
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. kid — child
  24. drill — a practice

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