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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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Word bank
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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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. mug — a face
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — the season
  7. rest — a break
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — of water
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. fork — in a road
  14. drill — the tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mug — a cup
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. craft — a skill
  20. rush — hurry
  21. mug — to rob
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spring — a coil
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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