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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. degree — an amount
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. object — to protest
  6. shower — rain
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tear — to rip
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. degree — temperature
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. scale — size or range
  14. tear — from crying
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. scale — in music
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. object — a thing
  21. game — a match
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. object — an aim
  24. tear — from crying

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