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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — temperature
  3. kick — in football
  4. drill — a practice
  5. staff — a stick
  6. degree — from a university
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. wound — an injury
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — money
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bass — low music
  19. perch — the fish
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. bass — the instrument

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