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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. bore — to drill
  4. spell — magic
  5. degree — from a university
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bore — to tire
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. degree — temperature
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spell — letters
  24. date — the fruit

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