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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chest — a box
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chest — of your body
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. drill — army training
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. drill — the tool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chest — of your body
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. date — the fruit
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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