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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.

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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. can — to be able to
  4. row — a line
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. drill — army training
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. row — to paddle
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. present — the time now
  17. can — a tin
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. present — a gift
  21. can — a tin
  22. present — there
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. row — a quarrel

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