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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. degree — from a university
  4. shower — rain
  5. scale — in music
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. degree — an amount
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lean — to bend
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. lean — thin
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. roll — a list
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. scale — size or range
  23. foot — a measure
  24. degree — temperature

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