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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. face — to confront
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. degree — from a university
  11. field — farmland
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. face — to point toward
  19. field — a subject
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. shower — rain
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. face — part of the head
  24. field — for sport

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