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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cue — for pool
  5. degree — an amount
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bass — the fish
  8. tear — from crying
  9. swing — music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ground — the earth
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bass — low music
  15. cue — a hint
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. swing — in golf
  19. ground — a position
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cue — a signal
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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