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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. drill — the tool
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rush — hurry
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. deal — to handle
  14. stand — to bear
  15. cell — a phone
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. drill — army training
  20. shower — rain
  21. degree — from a university
  22. drill — a practice
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. rush — a thrill

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