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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pit — a hole
  4. degree — from a university
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. hand — in cards
  11. branch — a division
  12. rest — what's left
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rest — what's left
  15. hand — help
  16. degree — temperature
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. rest — a break
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pit — in a race
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. shower — rain

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