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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. shower — rain
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. degree — from a university
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. craft — a skill
  15. fine — high quality
  16. craft — boats
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ball — a dance

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