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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. shower — rain
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mine — for digging
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. degree — an amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cap — of ice
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. shower — to wash
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cap — a hat
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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