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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. degree — temperature
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pop — to visit
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pop — soda
  16. shower — rain
  17. hand — help
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hand — in cards
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pop — music
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — to hit hard

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