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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bore — to tire
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. land — ground
  12. shower — rain
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. degree — from a university
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. land — a country
  18. bound — obliged
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. deal — to handle
  24. land — to come down

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