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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pop — music
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. shower — rain
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. pop — soda
  10. cell — in biology
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cell — a phone
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wake — a trail
  22. shower — to wash
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hide — animal skin

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