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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. drill — army training
  3. tear — to rip
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rock — a stone
  7. degree — temperature
  8. board — to get on
  9. drill — the tool
  10. degree — from a university
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rock — music
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. drill — a practice
  15. tear — from crying
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. game — a match
  19. board — a committee
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. game — wild animals
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rock — to move gently

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