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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rash — hasty
  11. court — of a king
  12. present — the time now
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. fall — the season
  15. rash — a series
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. kid — child
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — temperature
  23. toast — bread
  24. rash — on the skin

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