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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: stem · degree · suit · pop · drill · bay · snap · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. land — a country
  4. pop — to visit
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pop — music
  7. land — ground
  8. pop — soda
  9. drill — army training
  10. snap — to click
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — clothes
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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