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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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Word bank
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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: tube · drill · court · wound · bank · content · degree · stand

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bank — for money
  6. tube — the underground
  7. content — the amount
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tube — a container
  10. degree — from a university
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stand — to bear
  14. bank — of a river
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bank — for money
  19. court — of a king
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. court — for sport
  24. stand — on your feet

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