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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. charge — in control
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. shower — rain
  14. pound — a weight
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. degree — an amount
  18. squash — to crush
  19. charge — a price
  20. charge — electricity
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. ball — a dance
  24. prune — to trim

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