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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 124 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — child
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. kid — to tease
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. drill — the tool
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. bear — the animal
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. degree — from a university
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bear — the animal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. drill — army training
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. degree — an amount

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