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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. last — to go on
  5. mug — a face
  6. drill — army training
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mug — a cup
  9. land — to come down
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — ground
  12. drill — the tool
  13. last — finally
  14. land — a country
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. mug — to rob
  17. degree — temperature
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. degree — from a university
  20. drill — a practice
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. last — final
  24. jam — in traffic

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