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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 120 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: safe · chest · drill · march · race · stem · degree · rest

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. chest — a box
  3. march — music
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chest — of your body
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. chest — of your body
  8. degree — from a university
  9. drill — a practice
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — temperature
  13. march — the month
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rest — what's left
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. drill — the tool
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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