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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 116 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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468
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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. degree — an amount
  3. drill — army training
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. root — of a word
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. snap — to click
  13. bear — the animal
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. root — the cause
  16. bear — the animal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. kid — to tease
  20. root — of a plant
  21. degree — from a university
  22. drill — a practice
  23. degree — temperature
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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