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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. club — for golf
  3. degree — an amount
  4. scale — size or range
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. chest — of your body
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — temperature
  11. scale — in music
  12. date — the fruit
  13. chest — a box
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. board — a committee
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — of your body

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