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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spring — the season
  6. pass — a permit
  7. degree — temperature
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. degree — an amount
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spring — of water
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. degree — from a university
  21. land — to come down
  22. hand — help
  23. shower — rain
  24. pass — to succeed

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