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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. foot — a measure
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. staff — employees
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — to handle
  11. degree — an amount
  12. drill — army training
  13. staff — a stick
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. content — the amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cold — an illness
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. drill — the tool
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. degree — temperature

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