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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 120 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: dip · mark · ground · bat · pop · shower

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. ground — crushed
  5. shower — rain
  6. pop — soda
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pop — music
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. ground — a position
  12. mark — a grade
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mark — a trace
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mark — to pay attention

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