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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. swing — music
  3. root — of a plant
  4. squash — to crush
  5. clip — to cut
  6. shower — rain
  7. degree — from a university
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. clip — for paper
  10. squash — the sport
  11. swing — in golf
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. root — of a word
  18. degree — temperature
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. root — the cause
  21. shower — to wash
  22. swing — to play on
  23. clip — a video
  24. degree — an amount

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