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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — temperature
  3. present — a gift
  4. staff — employees
  5. degree — an amount
  6. present — there
  7. shower — rain
  8. cell — a phone
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. staff — employees
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cell — in biology
  14. present — the time now
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. staff — a stick
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cell — in a prison

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