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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wind · stem · degree · current · drill · cap · march · ground

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. drill — army training
  5. cap — of ice
  6. current — electric
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. ground — crushed
  9. current — of water
  10. current — happening now
  11. ground — the earth
  12. march — the month
  13. ground — a position
  14. cap — a lid
  15. drill — the tool
  16. march — the month
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wind — moving air
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. drill — a practice
  22. degree — from a university
  23. march — music
  24. wind — moving air

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