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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. club — for golf
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. degree — from a university
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. net — in sport
  8. club — a group
  9. pit — a hole
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — for catching
  13. swing — music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. swing — in golf
  17. degree — temperature
  18. net — after costs
  19. pit — in a race
  20. swing — to play on
  21. degree — an amount
  22. drill — the tool
  23. club — for dancing
  24. tear — to rip

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