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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. degree — from a university
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — of water
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spring — the season
  8. cap — a lid
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. spring — a coil
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. toast — bread
  13. degree — an amount
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — temperature
  16. kick — in football
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. march — music
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. nail — for a hammer

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