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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. drill — army training
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. track — a path
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. track — a song
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — to bear
  16. track — to keep track
  17. drill — the tool
  18. degree — from a university

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