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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. squash — the sport
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bear — the animal
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bat — the animal
  18. drill — army training

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