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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. degree — temperature
  3. shower — rain
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pit — a hole
  10. field — a subject
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — farmland
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wound — an injury
  22. field — for sport
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. degree — from a university

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