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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cold — not warm
  3. shower — to wash
  4. land — a country
  5. shower — rain
  6. rush — hurry
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. land — ground
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. degree — temperature
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bank — for money
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bank — for money
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bank — of a river
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cold — an illness

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