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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. shower — rain
  4. chest — a box
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. chair — a leader
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. snap — to click
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. pit — a hole
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. deal — to handle
  18. degree — an amount
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. pit — in a race
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chair — a professorship

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