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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. field — a subject
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bear — the animal
  7. degree — temperature
  8. tear — from crying
  9. march — the month
  10. drill — a practice
  11. march — the month
  12. drill — army training
  13. degree — from a university
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. tube — a container
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. degree — an amount
  18. field — for sport
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. field — farmland
  21. tube — the underground
  22. march — music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. racket — for tennis

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