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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.

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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: drill · mug · field · stock · saw · degree · bowl · clip

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. drill — a practice
  3. saw — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. stock — shares
  7. mug — a cup
  8. stock — goods
  9. mug — to rob
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. degree — from a university
  12. field — for sport
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. saw — the tool
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. degree — an amount
  20. field — farmland
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — temperature
  24. drill — the tool

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