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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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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: stem · march · chest · bank · content · can · patient · degree

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. march — music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. can — a tin
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bank — for money
  8. content — the amount
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chest — a box
  11. degree — from a university
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. march — the month
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bank — of a river
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bank — for money
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — happy
  24. can — a tin

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