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

Word bank: mouse · drill · march · deal · content · bear · degree · jam

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. deal — to handle
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bear — the animal
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. march — the month
  9. bear — the animal
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. content — happy
  15. drill — the tool
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. drill — a practice
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. content — the amount
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. degree — from a university
  23. drill — army training
  24. degree — an amount

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