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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pop — soda
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. degree — temperature
  7. can — to be able to
  8. stand — to bear
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hand — help
  16. shower — to wash
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. shower — rain
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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