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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. degree — from a university
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. toast — bread
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. shower — rain
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to click
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fork — in a road
  23. drill — the tool
  24. degree — an amount

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