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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. shower — rain
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. deal — to handle
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. prune — to trim
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. degree — from a university
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. mark — a trace
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wound — an injury
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. sharp — clever

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