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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. degree — an amount
  5. drill — the tool
  6. net — for catching
  7. object — an aim
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. object — to protest
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. degree — from a university
  18. object — a thing
  19. lean — thin
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. net — after costs
  23. lean — to bend
  24. net — in sport

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