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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bore — to tire
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bore — to drill
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. squash — to crush
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. row — a line
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. rush — hurry
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. file — a line of people

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