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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mine — for digging
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. shower — to wash
  9. degree — from a university
  10. current — electric
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. current — of water
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bark — to shout
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. snap — to click
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. current — happening now

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