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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 116 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. degree — from a university
  8. race — the arms race
  9. swing — to play on
  10. land — to come down
  11. season — of the year
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. race — a contest
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. land — ground
  16. swing — in golf
  17. land — a country
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. swing — music
  20. race — humankind
  21. degree — an amount
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. mine — for digging

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