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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. shower — rain
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. capital — a city
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. saw — the tool
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. shower — to wash
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. capital — money
  15. degree — temperature
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. net — for catching
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. degree — an amount
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — in sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. saw — the tool
  24. prune — to trim

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