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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. can — a tin
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. can — to be able to
  5. board — a committee
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. row — a line
  12. saw — the tool
  13. row — to paddle
  14. kid — to tease
  15. board — to get on
  16. can — a tin
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kid — child
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. saw — the tool
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — to tire
  24. board — a flat piece

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