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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. staff — a stick
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. staff — employees
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. capital — money
  12. staff — employees
  13. shower — to wash
  14. ground — the earth
  15. fall — the season
  16. game — wild animals
  17. shower — rain
  18. fall — to drop
  19. game — a match
  20. ground — a position
  21. fall — to drop
  22. ground — crushed
  23. degree — from a university
  24. calf — a young animal

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