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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. game — a match
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bank — for money
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bank — for money
  12. root — the cause
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bank — of a river
  15. root — of a word
  16. wind — moving air
  17. row — a line
  18. root — of a plant
  19. degree — temperature
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wind — moving air
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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