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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. drill — a practice
  5. march — the month
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. ground — a position
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — to visit
  10. drill — army training
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pop — music
  14. ground — the earth
  15. degree — an amount
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. sharp — clever
  21. degree — from a university
  22. ground — crushed
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. drill — the tool

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