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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. last — to go on
  6. drill — a practice
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. last — finally
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bark — to shout
  15. drill — army training
  16. cap — a hat
  17. last — final
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. shower — rain
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cabinet — ministers

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