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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. march — music
  3. ground — a position
  4. march — the month
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pit — a hole
  21. march — the month
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. ground — crushed

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