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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. deal — to handle
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. scale — in music
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wound — an injury
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. drill — a practice
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. mate — a friend
  17. degree — temperature
  18. scale — size or range
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chest — a box
  22. wound — an injury
  23. drill — army training
  24. chest — of your body

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