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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. track — a path
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. drill — a practice
  6. track — a song
  7. bass — low music
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. drill — army training
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bass — the fish
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bear — the animal
  15. drill — the tool
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bear — the animal

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