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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. foot — a measure
  4. degree — an amount
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bear — the animal
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bank — for money
  13. saw — the tool
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bank — for money
  17. drill — the tool
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bear — the animal
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bank — of a river
  22. degree — temperature
  23. drill — army training
  24. bear — to put up with

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