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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bore — to tire
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. firm — a company
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. drill — a practice
  10. firm — decided
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. degree — temperature
  13. drill — army training
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. firm — steady
  17. degree — from a university
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. bore — to drill
  23. perch — the fish
  24. plane — a tool

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