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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rest — what's left
  4. season — of the year
  5. charge — electricity
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rest — a break
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. charge — in control
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. ground — crushed
  14. charge — a price
  15. shower — rain
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. season — in sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. foot — a measure
  24. trunk — of a tree

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