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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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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cell — a phone
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cell — in biology
  10. firm — decided
  11. degree — from a university
  12. content — happy
  13. firm — steady
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bore — to drill
  16. swing — music
  17. firm — a company
  18. drill — army training
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. content — the amount
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cell — in a prison

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