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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. toast — bread
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — rain
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cell — in biology
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cell — a phone
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bulb — for light
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bulb — for light
  16. ground — the earth
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. row — to paddle
  20. degree — from a university
  21. row — a line
  22. ground — a position
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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