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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. court — of law
  7. lean — to bend
  8. court — for sport
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bulb — for light
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bulb — for light
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. court — of a king
  17. degree — an amount
  18. lean — thin
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. fork — in a road
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hand — help

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