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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bore — to drill
  3. file — a tool
  4. band — a ring
  5. cue — a hint
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. mug — to rob
  9. race — the arms race
  10. file — a document
  11. band — a music group
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bass — the fish
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. file — a line of people
  22. mug — a face
  23. cue — for pool
  24. mug — a cup

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