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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. deal — to handle
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. dip — to sink
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. shower — to wash
  12. date — the fruit
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. shower — rain
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pitcher — a jug

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