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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — in a race
  4. drill — the tool
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. degree — temperature
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. clip — a video
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. degree — from a university
  14. plane — a tool
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. clip — to cut
  18. drill — army training
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. clip — for paper

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