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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: wind · chip · degree · drill · stick · fine · pit · row

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. drill — army training
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. drill — a practice
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wind — moving air
  15. drill — the tool
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — for betting
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. row — a line
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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