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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ground — a position
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. drill — army training
  9. present — the time now
  10. pit — in a race
  11. spring — of water
  12. pit — a hole
  13. present — a gift
  14. mine — for digging
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. drill — a practice
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. present — there
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. degree — from a university
  23. drill — the tool
  24. degree — temperature

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