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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. hand — help
  3. season — in sport
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mug — a face
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. club — a group
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mug — to rob
  11. shower — rain
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. key — the most important part
  15. fork — in a road
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mug — a cup
  19. season — of the year
  20. key — for a lock
  21. club — for golf
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. key — in music
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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