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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 120 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. club — a group
  3. shower — to wash
  4. race — the arms race
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. lean — thin
  8. race — a contest
  9. degree — from a university
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. club — for dancing
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. lean — to bend
  15. degree — temperature
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. capital — money
  20. degree — an amount
  21. race — humankind
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. capital — a city
  24. club — for golf

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