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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. degree — temperature
  4. shower — rain
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. club — for dancing
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mug — to rob
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. club — for golf
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. shower — to wash
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. club — a group
  23. plane — a tool
  24. mug — a face

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