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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. fall — to drop
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bat — the animal
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. track — a song
  9. fall — to drop
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fall — the season
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. track — a path
  22. degree — an amount
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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