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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. shower — rain
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mate — to breed
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pound — a weight
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to click
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kick — in football
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lean — thin
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lean — to bend

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