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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 116 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. degree — an amount
  3. charge — electricity
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. degree — temperature
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bank — for money
  8. field — farmland
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bank — of a river
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. charge — in control
  20. bank — for money
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. drill — the tool
  24. charge — a price

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