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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. net — in sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. degree — from a university
  11. roll — a list
  12. chest — a box
  13. drill — the tool
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. net — after costs
  16. roll — a cake
  17. chest — of your body
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. net — for catching
  20. saw — the tool
  21. snap — to click
  22. drill — a practice
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. chest — of your body

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