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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. drill — the tool
  3. degree — from a university
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. drill — army training
  8. bore — to tire
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. degree — temperature
  11. vault — a safe
  12. net — in sport
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bore — to drill
  16. pop — soda
  17. net — for catching
  18. fine — all right
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. drill — a practice
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. coach — a trainer

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