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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. shower — rain
  3. spell — letters
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. club — a group
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spell — magic
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. march — the month
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. content — happy
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spell — a short time
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. content — the amount
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. march — the month
  23. club — for dancing
  24. march — music

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