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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. suit — in cards
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. degree — an amount
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — ground
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ground — a position
  12. bulb — for light
  13. roll — a list
  14. drill — the tool
  15. suit — clothes
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. suit — to fit
  19. degree — temperature
  20. drill — a practice
  21. roll — a cake
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. drill — army training

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