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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lean — to bend
  5. degree — temperature
  6. shower — rain
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fine — high quality
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. shower — to wash
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. content — the amount
  21. lean — thin
  22. fine — all right
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. content — happy

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