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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. shower — rain
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. lean — thin
  5. bass — the fish
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. prune — to trim
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. cell — in biology
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bass — low music
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cell — a phone

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