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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rest — a break
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. drill — army training
  11. fork — in a road
  12. degree — temperature
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. drill — a practice
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. row — to paddle
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. mate — to breed
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. row — a line

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