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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. spring — the season
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. stand — to bear
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bank — for money
  13. fall — to drop
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bank — for money
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bank — of a river
  19. rash — hasty
  20. shower — rain
  21. rash — a series
  22. degree — an amount
  23. fall — the season
  24. pitcher — a jug

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