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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kick — in football
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. degree — temperature
  8. toast — bread
  9. charge — electricity
  10. saw — the tool
  11. shower — rain
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. hand — help
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — in control
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. row — to paddle
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. saw — the tool
  22. row — a line
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. shower — to wash

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