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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. drill — the tool
  7. hand — help
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. drill — army training
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wound — an injury
  13. degree — an amount
  14. key — for a lock
  15. capital — a city
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. hand — in cards
  20. saw — the tool
  21. capital — money
  22. key — the most important part
  23. wound — an injury
  24. key — in music

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