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

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. drill — army training
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. drill — the tool
  12. dip — to sink
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. kid — to tease
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. kid — child

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