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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bank — for money
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. row — a line
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bank — of a river
  10. pit — a hole
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bank — for money
  13. row — to paddle
  14. drill — the tool
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. rest — a break
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. drill — army training
  24. pit — in a race

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