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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fine — all right
  6. degree — an amount
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. pop — soda
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fine — high quality
  11. drill — army training
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rest — a break
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. pop — to visit
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pop — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. drill — the tool
  22. swing — music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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