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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. shower — rain
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. spring — the season
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. spring — of water
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. shower — to wash
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. degree — an amount
  12. spring — a coil
  13. degree — from a university
  14. track — a path
  15. lean — thin
  16. track — a song
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. track — to keep track
  22. lean — to bend
  23. press — newspapers
  24. degree — temperature

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