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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. dip — a sauce
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. degree — an amount
  7. shower — rain
  8. degree — from a university
  9. shower — to wash
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — to sink
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. chip — for betting
  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