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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. degree — from a university
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. face — to point toward
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. kid — child
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fork — in a road
  11. kick — in football
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. face — to confront
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kid — to tease
  23. degree — an amount
  24. face — part of the head

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