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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cell — in biology
  7. drill — the tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. drill — army training
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. drill — a practice
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. prune — to trim

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