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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. drill — army training
  4. last — final
  5. hand — in cards
  6. board — to get on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. hand — help
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. last — finally
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — high quality
  17. track — a song
  18. board — a committee
  19. drill — a practice
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. track — to keep track
  24. last — to go on

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