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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wake — a trail
  13. degree — from a university
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — to visit
  17. swing — in golf
  18. shower — rain
  19. cell — in biology
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. swing — music
  23. hand — help
  24. leaves — to go away

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