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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bank — for money
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — to paddle
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bank — of a river
  13. spell — a short time
  14. drill — army training
  15. spell — magic
  16. cold — not warm
  17. drill — a practice
  18. content — the amount
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bank — for money
  21. degree — from a university
  22. content — happy
  23. row — a line
  24. spell — letters

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