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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pop — music
  4. dip — to sink
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pop — soda
  7. degree — an amount
  8. tube — a container
  9. scale — in music
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. shower — rain
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. last — finally
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. last — to go on
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pop — to visit
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tube — the underground
  24. last — final

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