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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. last — finally
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. last — final
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. degree — temperature
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. last — to go on
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — rain
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. shower — to wash
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — the animal
  22. degree — from a university
  23. game — wild animals
  24. arm — part of the body

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