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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. snap — to click
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wax — to grow
  6. drill — the tool
  7. charge — a price
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — music
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bore — to drill
  13. spring — of water
  14. charge — in control
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. degree — from a university
  21. drill — army training
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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