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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. tear — to rip
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. shower — rain
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. degree — an amount
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — from a university
  15. dip — to sink
  16. tear — from crying
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. toast — bread
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. shower — to wash
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ball — a dance

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