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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. toast — bread
  3. cell — in biology
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chip — to eat
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kid — to tease
  9. firm — decided
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. face — to point toward
  12. firm — steady
  13. cell — a phone
  14. firm — a company
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chip — for betting
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. degree — temperature
  19. kid — child
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. face — part of the head
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. face — to confront

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