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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. ground — a position
  12. drill — the tool
  13. chip — to eat
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cold — not warm
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. chip — for betting
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. calf — a young animal

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