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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. row — to paddle
  4. degree — temperature
  5. shower — to wash
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fine — high quality
  8. spell — a short time
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chest — a box
  12. spell — magic
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. face — to confront
  15. fine — all right
  16. spell — letters
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. face — to point toward
  19. chest — of your body
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. degree — from a university
  24. wax — to grow

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