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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. club — for golf
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cap — a lid
  8. degree — temperature
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. key — in music
  11. mug — to rob
  12. club — a group
  13. key — for a lock
  14. degree — an amount
  15. club — for dancing
  16. key — the most important part
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mug — a cup
  22. shower — rain
  23. mug — a face
  24. cap — a hat

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