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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. degree — an amount
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. pop — music
  5. land — ground
  6. mark — a trace
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. roll — a cake
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. roll — a list
  13. pop — to visit
  14. shower — rain
  15. mark — a grade
  16. land — to come down
  17. pop — soda
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. shower — to wash
  22. land — a country
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. degree — temperature

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