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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · leaves · pound · degree · cell · rule

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. rule — a law
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. shower — rain
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rule — government
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rule — to rule out

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