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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 116 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — shares
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a dance
  12. shower — rain
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stock — goods
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — high quality
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  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