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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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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: mug · degree · cold · pit · club · wind · drill · bank

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bank — for money
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — an illness
  7. club — for golf
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mug — a face
  12. drill — army training
  13. bank — of a river
  14. mug — a cup
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. degree — temperature
  17. club — a group
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — from a university
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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