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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mug — a face
  4. degree — from a university
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mate — a friend
  7. shower — rain
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. court — of law
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mug — to rob
  12. perch — the fish
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rush — hurry
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — for sport
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. mate — a partner
  20. court — of a king
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mug — a cup
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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