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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · rule · dip · drill · snap · branch · fine · degree

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fine — all right
  4. rule — government
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rule — a law
  9. kid — child
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. fine — high quality
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. snap — to click
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. branch — a division

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