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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 116 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. object — an aim
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — to wash
  12. degree — temperature
  13. object — to protest
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fall — the season
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fall — to drop
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. object — a thing
  24. tear — to rip

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