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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. drill — army training
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. present — the time now
  19. bore — to tire
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bore — to drill
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. degree — from a university

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