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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. shower — rain
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. mate — to breed
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. field — for sport
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. shower — to wash
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. wind — moving air
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mate — a friend
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rush — to hurry

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