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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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. toast — bread
  8. degree — from a university
  9. file — a document
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. degree — an amount
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mate — to breed
  17. shower — to wash
  18. pop — music
  19. mate — a partner
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. drill — army training
  22. shower — rain
  23. trunk — of a car
  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