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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bore — to drill
  3. spell — magic
  4. bass — low music
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. rock — music
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bore — to tire
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rock — a stone
  14. spell — letters
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pitch — completely
  19. hand — help
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bass — the fish
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — in cards

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