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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: bear · bank · degree · tube · swing · field · chest · stem

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bear — the animal
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bank — for money
  6. swing — music
  7. field — farmland
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. chest — a box
  11. degree — from a university
  12. field — a subject
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bank — for money
  17. degree — an amount
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bank — of a river
  24. field — for sport

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