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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. shower — rain
  3. staff — a stick
  4. shower — to wash
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rock — music
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rock — a stone
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. staff — employees
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. staff — employees
  24. degree — temperature

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