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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spell — a short time
  5. shower — rain
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spell — magic
  8. march — the month
  9. present — a gift
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. spell — letters
  17. present — the time now
  18. march — the month
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. march — music
  21. present — there
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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