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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bear — the animal
  3. swing — music
  4. degree — from a university
  5. shower — to wash
  6. hand — in cards
  7. degree — temperature
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. saw — the tool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. toast — bread
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. hand — help
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bear — to put up with

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