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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. pop — soda
  3. shower — rain
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spring — the season
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spring — of water
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. rock — a stone
  12. fine — high quality
  13. rock — music
  14. pit — a hole
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. fine — all right
  19. pit — in a race
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pop — music
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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