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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. drill — a practice
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. clip — for paper
  5. drill — army training
  6. snap — to click
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — bread
  9. clip — to cut
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. drill — the tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. clip — a video
  16. degree — an amount
  17. roll — a list
  18. board — a committee
  19. saw — the tool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. degree — from a university
  23. board — to get on
  24. saw — the tool

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