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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. drill — the tool
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. last — to go on
  6. drill — army training
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rule — government
  10. last — finally
  11. toast — bread
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. degree — an amount
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. last — final
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. rule — a law
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — rain
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rule — to rule out

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