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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're almost out of ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. can — to be able to
  3. shower — rain
  4. degree — temperature
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wake — a trail
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. snap — to click
  9. can — a tin
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pop — music
  12. board — a committee
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. board — to get on
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. degree — an amount
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — from a university
  20. dip — to sink
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. can — a tin
  23. pop — to visit
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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