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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. degree — from a university
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. march — the month
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. drill — the tool

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