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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mug — a face
  6. clip — a video
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — an amount
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — a law
  12. mug — to rob
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. lean — thin
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. clip — to cut
  20. degree — temperature
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mug — a cup
  23. lean — to bend
  24. degree — from a university

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