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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rush — hurry
  4. firm — decided
  5. board — a committee
  6. game — wild animals
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. degree — from a university
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — a match
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. degree — an amount
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. firm — a company
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. firm — steady
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. board — to get on
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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