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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rock — a stone
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. rock — music
  9. degree — an amount
  10. shower — rain
  11. degree — temperature
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — hurry
  18. date — the fruit
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. row — to paddle
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. row — a line
  23. branch — a division
  24. date — on the calendar

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