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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. drill — army training
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. degree — from a university
  8. swing — to play on
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pop — music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pit — in a race
  13. drill — the tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pop — soda
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bat — the animal
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pit — a hole
  21. shower — to wash
  22. swing — music
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. shower — rain

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