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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. spell — a short time
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. can — a tin
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. chest — of your body
  9. shower — rain
  10. can — to be able to
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. can — a tin
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. chip — for betting
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. shower — to wash
  21. spell — letters
  22. degree — an amount
  23. spell — magic
  24. rush — a thrill

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