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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 120 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. fall — the season
  4. pop — soda
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. fall — to drop
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pop — music
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. degree — from a university
  23. perch — the fish
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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