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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. roll — a cake
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. pop — to visit
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. net — after costs
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kid — to tease
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. kid — child
  21. roll — a list
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. degree — temperature
  24. net — for catching

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