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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bore — to tire
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. club — a group
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. last — final
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. row — a line
  17. last — finally
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. last — to go on
  21. bore — to drill
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. shower — rain

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