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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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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: fall · kid · degree · board · tube · drill · root · pit

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pit — a hole
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pit — in a race
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tube — a container
  9. root — of a plant
  10. kid — child
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fall — to drop
  13. board — to get on
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. root — the cause
  16. drill — army training
  17. fall — the season
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. board — a committee
  21. root — of a word
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. drill — a practice

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