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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: field · tear · drill · chip · scale · wind · degree · bank

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. scale — in music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. drill — army training
  6. field — for sport
  7. bank — of a river
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chip — to eat
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — from a university
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — from crying
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bank — for money
  19. scale — size or range
  20. field — farmland
  21. chip — for betting
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. field — a subject

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