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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — from a university
  5. hand — in cards
  6. tube — the underground
  7. shower — rain
  8. stand — to bear
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pitch — completely
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hand — help
  19. degree — an amount
  20. tube — a container
  21. wind — moving air
  22. shower — to wash
  23. roll — a cake
  24. stand — on your feet

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