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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. object — an aim
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. shower — rain
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. degree — temperature
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — high quality
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fine — all right
  14. swing — music
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. swing — to play on
  17. pound — a weight
  18. foot — a measure
  19. object — a thing
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. object — to protest
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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