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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. land — to come down
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. degree — an amount
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. stand — to bear
  9. bore — to tire
  10. land — ground
  11. degree — from a university
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bore — to drill
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. land — a country
  24. fan — a supporter

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