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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. shower — rain
  3. chest — a box
  4. club — a group
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. wake — a trail
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — from a university
  16. deal — to handle
  17. foot — a measure
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — for dancing

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