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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: ground · tube · chair · bay · drill · mine · degree · track

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tube — the underground
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. track — a path
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. drill — army training
  9. degree — an amount
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. ground — a position
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tube — a container
  21. degree — from a university
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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