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

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. shower — to wash
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cell — a phone
  9. shower — rain
  10. deal — to handle
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — from a university
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bulb — for light
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bulb — for light
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pass — a permit
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pass — to spend time

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