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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. snap — to click
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — a hole
  15. game — a match
  16. wind — moving air
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bore — to tire
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. degree — from a university
  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