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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wound — an injury
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — rain
  7. fine — all right
  8. degree — an amount
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. degree — temperature
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. fine — high quality
  14. deal — to handle
  15. present — there
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mark — a grade
  19. ball — a great time
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — the time 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