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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. lean — to rest against
  2. present — a gift
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. drill — the tool
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. present — the time now
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. lean — to bend
  15. shower — rain
  16. present — there
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lean — thin
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. degree — an amount
  23. drill — army training
  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