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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bore — to drill
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. drill — army training
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. plane — a tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. bore — to tire
  12. chest — of your body
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mark — a trace
  15. drill — a practice
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. drill — the tool
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. mark — a grade
  22. wake — a trail
  23. degree — an amount
  24. plane — in geometry

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