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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 116 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. degree — an amount
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. degree — temperature
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. tear — from crying
  9. club — a group
  10. shower — rain
  11. fork — in a road
  12. rock — music
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bass — low music
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. club — for golf
  24. shower — to wash

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