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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. club — for dancing
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. sharp — clever
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. row — to paddle
  13. club — a group
  14. perch — the fish
  15. shower — rain
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. rush — hurry
  22. club — for golf
  23. row — a line
  24. perch — for a bird

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