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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 116 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: bay · drill · bowl · mine · bat · pit · degree · patient

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. drill — army training
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bat — for baseball

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